Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 8:18-25 When Simon saw that the Spirit was given at the laying on of the apostles' hands, he offered them money and said, "Give me also this ability so that everyone on whom I lay my hands may receive the Holy Spirit."  Peter answered: "May your money perish with you, because you thought you could buy the gift of God with money!  You have no part or share in this ministry, because your heart is not right before God.  Repent of this wickedness and pray to the Lord. Perhaps he will forgive you for having such a thought in your heart.  For I see that you are full of bitterness and captive to sin."... Although Simon accepted the Lord and got baptized, he didn't really give the authority over his life to God's hands.  He was still filled with darkness and selfishness, and was never renewed by the Holy Spirit.  Isn't the church often in the same condition?  Although we've accepted the Lord, but in real life we are still filled with apathy, self-interest, greed and sin, and we never have allowed the Holy Spirit to have full authority over our lives. We need to come before God and ask the Holy Spirit to come and renew us, shine upon us and fill us.  If you wish to live a victorious life, you must start somewhere.  Not only to surrender your life to the hands of God, but also willing to offer the authority over your life to God and let Him manage it.  I remember when I was a child, I was full of dreams.  Even though I accepted the Lord and became a Christian when I was twelve, I still wanted to do many different things in my life.  Many of those dreams have gradually become reality, but when the dreams were realized I actually felt empty, because it wasn't all that exciting after all. Later on, I was attending church and serving in the fellowship, and I saw that many of my Christian friends living a rather ordinary life.  They, however, had a unspoken joy and satisfaction in their lives that I didn't have, and it made me think why their lives were so different from mine.  One time I went to a college summer conference, and the speaker talked about how a Christian, whether a minister or not, should offer the authority over his life to God.  I then realized that although I was a Christian, I was living for my own dreams, and never considered letting the Holy Spirit possess the authority over my life and let Him manage it.  Since that day, my spiritual life was turned around and it was the beginning of how I experienced the abundance of God.  In your spiritual life, do you also wish to have such a turning point?   Pray with Pastor Tong Liu        Lord, may your Spirit come and fill our lives.  If there's anything in our lives that we haven't entrust in your hands, help us do it today.  May the Holy Spirit have complete authority over our lives so that we may experience your abundance each and every day.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!