Daily Devotion

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River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 2 John 1-3   "The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth - and not I only, but also all who know the truth - because of the truth, which lives in us and will be with us forever: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and from Jesus Christ, the Father's Son, will be with us in truth and love."   John is a teacher who likes to stresses on the truth. Today, our faith not only has to satisfy the needs of the souls, but it must stand on the foundation of truth. We can easily be lost if our foundation is not firm. Therefore, John talked about a balance between truth and love. Grace, mercy and peace are from Father God and Jesus Christ. Grace is from God; it's the blessing that we don't deserve, but God is still willing to give us. Mercy is the fact that God not only gave us grace, but personally helped us to receive the blessing.   For example, a convict was imprisoned, and later was pronounced innocent and released. This is a grace, because he didn't deserve it; however, what can a released convict do when he's filthy and penniless? If someone takes him to have a bath and change of clothes, and give him some money to start his new life, that is mercy. Therefore, when the grace and mercy of God comes upon us, not only can we be saved from the dungeon of sin, we may also rise up again in our life.   Peace is the result of us receiving the Lord's grace. Peace must come from God in order for us to enjoy true rest under all circumstances. Many people misunderstand the work of Holy Spirit, believing that Holy Spirit will do something irrational or create chaos, but both are actually prejudice from misunderstanding. Holy Spirit comes to help us to enter into truth, so that we can better understand truth and love truth. On the other hand, Holy Spirit can truly release the power of God's word, so they complement and even need each other. This is the dual-channel of God's grace - God can bless us with God's Spirit and God's word, and both are equally important. On the one hand we must stand firm on the foundation of truth, and on the other hand we must accept all the grace, mercy and peace from God by faith.   Pray with Pastor Tong Liu        Lord, I thank you because you not only gave us truth, but also you also gave us grace, mercy and peace. May you grant everyone grace, mercy and peace, and may your Spirit pour onto us all the rich blessings in Christ. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Daily Devotion

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River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 John 5:20-21   "We know also that the Son of God has come and has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true. And we are in him who is true - even in his Son Jesus Christ. He is the true God and eternal life. Dear children, keep yourselves from idols."   In Jesus Christ we can have true spiritual wisdom. Verse 20 says that God "has given us understanding, so that we may know him who is true." Not only do we know God, we also know what is true and what is false. There are lots of false things in the world. Once time Mrs. Liu and I went to a restaurant which was nicely decorated; I told Mrs. Liu that is was impressive for them to keep so many beautiful flowers inside a restaurant, but she told me that they were all plastic flowers! The fake looks like the real, and could be even prettier.   There are a lot of things in the world that looks nice from the outside and they attract us to pursue them, but they bring us nothing but emptiness and disappointment. Some said that what the world can give us is like chewing gum - After first it tastes sweet, but after a while it just tastes like rubber and you only want to spit it out. What is true and what is false? Don't you need the wisdom from God to distinguish? After years of serving God, I often give thanks for the wisdom that God grants me. If it wasn't for God's wisdom, I wouldn't know how to ministers to such a big spiritual family. Very often I was put on the spot and pushed to deal with what I've never dealt with before. I thank the Lord, however, because in Jesus Christ we have spiritual wisdom for us to see through all things and to understand the truth.   Brothers and sisters, the grace that God grants us through Jesus is indeed precious and abundant! The more I preach the good news of the Lord, the more faithful I become, because I can better understand that in Christ we have tremendous assurance, affirmation and authority. In Philippians 1:20-21, Paul said that "I eagerly expect and hope that I will in no way be ashamed, but will have sufficient courage so that now as always Christ will be exalted in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ and to die is gain." Brothers and sisters, do you have such assurance? If you do, you need to live out the form of Christ in your daily life; if not, I hope that you will expect Christ as your personal savior today!   Pray with Pastor Tong Liu        Lord, I thank you because the grace you've given us in Christ is so abundant! May you open our eyes so that we can understand the abundance in Christ, and let us be willing to accept such grace in our daily life and let it become our strength. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Daily Devotion

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River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 John 5:18-19   "We know that anyone born of God does not continue to sin; the one who was born of God keeps him safe, and the evil one cannot harm him. We know that we are children of God, and that the whole world is under the control of the evil one."   In Jesus Christ, our life belongs to God. Verse 18 tells us that we are born of God, verse 19 says that we know we are children of God. Since we are born of God, what should be the characteristics of God's life in us? We are supposed to "not continue to sin." When Christians read this, we are often puzzled because we still sin. Does that mean we don't belong to God anymore?   I often say that when we look at a Christian, we must look at his whole life. David in the Bible orchestrated murder and stole someone else's wife, and it's hard for us to imagine that he was a "man of God's heart." If you look at his whole life, however, you'd see how he was disciplined and intensely trained by God, and you have to concede that David was truly a man of God. Jacob in the Bible deceived his brother and father, so you probably think he was really disobedient and immoral. If you look at Jacob's whole life, however, you'd see how he went through rigorous drill by God all his life and he eventually became blessing to multitude of people, and you'd acknowledge that God's work is indeed miraculous.   God may not want you to be a full-time minister, but He wants your life to be a model of holiness. As long as you are willing to obey, ultimately God's life in you will keep and let you overcome all the attacks and temptations from the enemy. He will make you whole to be just like the Lord.   Pray with Pastor Tong Liu        Lord, I thank you because this is such a precious promise - The life inside us will keep us till the need so that we will be as perfect as the Lord. Lord, please have mercy on us; even though we often stumble and fall in our life, come and rescue us whenever we are weak. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Daily Devotion

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River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 John 5:15-17         "And if we know that he hears us - whatever we ask - we know that we have what we asked of him. If you see any brother or sister commit a sin that does not lead to death, you should pray and God will give them life. I refer to those whose sin does not lead to death. There is a sin that leads to death. I am not saying that you should pray about that. All wrongdoing is sin, and there is sin that does not lead to death."   Verse 14 says: "This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us." Why can we approach God with confidence? It is not because we have talents, or tenderness and kindness, but the salvation in Christ. By His precious blood, we can come to God's throne and pray. That is why we say "in the name of Jesus Christ" every time we pray.          "In the name of the Lord" is not just for the conclusion of our prayer. It bears great authority. It can not only allow us approach God with confidence, but also let us receive grace and blessing from God's throne. "In the name of the Lord" can set your heart free and heal your physical body. This is the authority we have in Jesus Christ. Of course, when we pray we have to pray according to God's will. Once you are willing to obey God's will and pray accordingly, you will have what you ask of him.          John also reminded us there that we have to avoid one kind of sin, which is the sin that leads to death mentioned in verse 16. What is the sin that leads to death? In Matthew 12:32 Jesus explained that "Anyone who speaks a word against the Son of Man will be forgiven, but anyone who speaks against the Holy Spirit will not be forgiven, either in this age or in the age to come." In the whole plan of salvation, our Heavenly Father is the planner and Jesus Christ is the executor. The Spirit is the God that actually brings the salvation into our life. The so-called speaking against the Holy Spirit actually means that when someone keeps resisting the work of the Holy Spirit inside him for a long time, eventually he may loose the chance to be saved.          Dear friend, maybe you have heard a lot of sermons, or you may be more familiar with the Bible than some Christians. But many times just because of your ego, you haven't received Jesus' salvation yet. Actually the Bible tells us to seek the Lord when you still can, and cry out to Him when He is about to come, and receive salvation before the Judgment Day.            Pray with Pastor Tong Liu        Lord, we thank you for giving us the Spirit and letting us receive all of your grace. We specifically intercede for all the seekers. May you give them a soft heart to receive the work of the Spirit in their heart, so that they can seek you while they still can to make their life whole. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Daily Devotion

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River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 John 5:13-14     "I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us."    We have the promise of eternal life in Jesus Christ. Verse 13 says: "so that you may know that you have eternal life". This eternal life is not something that one can earn by his effort and merits, for everyone is originally living under the oppression of sins. No matter whether you admit or not that you are a sinner, you have to admit that there is a force inside of you to prevent you from doing what you are willing to do but force you to do what you are not willing to do. The Bible tells us very clearly that the wage of sins is death. Even if I don't feel that I am a sinner at all, but I cannot deny that one day you and I are going to face death anyway.           Jesus not only went on the cross for our sins to take God's penalty for sins in our place, but also was resurrected from the dead to prove that he not only conquered the power of sins, but also conquered the power of death. When we receive Him into our life to be our personal savior, we also receive the resurrecting life at the same time. In John 11:25 Jesus says: "I am the resurrection and the life. He who believes in me will live, even though he dies." The resurrection that Jesus referred to means all that have died in Christ will be resurrected at His seconding coming and they will be with the Lord forever.   In fact it is not hard for you to find that all worldly things will pass. The whole world is under the curse of the evil. Even our bodies are aging day by day. Many people are filled with fear and sorrow when they face death. But you don't have to be afraid at all, nor do you have to look for the panacea everywhere like other people, for all believers have a treasure better than the panacea, which is the eternal life in Jesus Christ. The Bible tells us that we won't have sorrow nor death at that time. God himself will wipe off all our tears. Paul once said that he'd rather leave the world to live with the Lord, for it is incomparably wonderful. At each memorial service, no matter how we miss the one that passed away, I would reminder the family that in Christ we have the assurance that we will meet each other again in heaven. This is the incomparable hope we have in Christ!            Pray with Pastor Tong Liu        Lord, we thank you, for in Christ we have the eternal life. Everything in the world will pass, but you give us the wonderful hope and assurance that we will meet with you and all our beloved brothers and sisters one day. May you put this wonderful hope in our heart. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Daily Devotion

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River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 John 5:9-12   "We accept human testimony, but God's testimony is greater because it is the testimony of God, which he has given about his Son. Whoever believes in the Son of God accepts this testimony. Whoever does not believe God has made him out to be a liar, because they have not believed the testimony God has given about his Son. And this is the testimony: God has given us eternal life, and this life is in his Son. Whoever has the Son has life; whoever does not have the Son of God does not have life."      In our everyday life, we always believe human testimony, such as the "before and after" in those TV commercials for weight-loosing program or hair-loss treatment, or someone's testimony on other people's guilt or innocence on the witness stand in court, or expert's opinions on some scientific topics. But why is it so difficult for us to accept God's testimony?   Many times we are actually fooled by the enemies when we regard belief as something non-scientific or unreasonable. In fact our belief can not only stand test, but also stand firm in front of all kinds of criticism. John said that since we can accept human testimony, shouldn't we accept God's testimony even more? God testifies to us that whoever believes in the Son of God shall have eternal life. This belief is very important. Hebrews 11:6 says: "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Why is it so important to have faith? In fact, the Lord himself also said in John 3:18: "Whoever believes in him is not condemned, but whoever does not believe stands condemned already because they have not believed in the name of God's one and only Son." Why it is so important to have faith is that the faith stands for acceptance. If you believe someone, it means you will accept him.   God is willing to give you the gift of salvation. If you refuse today, you will not be able to benefit from the salvation. Many people don't realize this. When they reject God, they also turn down the gift of salvation God gives to them. But whenever you believe in God, it is like you just open the door to your life. God will bring the abundance into your life. Dear friend, do you have God's life inside you? If not, just pray to Him and welcome Jesus into your life. The Lord will then put the eternal life into you. A believer will need to come before God every day to receive new grace from Him.               Pray with Pastor Tong Liu        Lord, we thank you, for you are the God that gives us the eternal life. When we give our life to Jesus, we will not only have the eternal life, but also get strengthened every day. We specifically pray for those friends who haven't given their life to you. When they cry out for you, please put the eternal life into them. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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