Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 14:11-18 When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!"  Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker.  The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them.  But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. ...He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy."  Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them. When the people of Lystra saw the miracles that Paul performed, they were excited and they fully believed in them, but they didn't truly know and worship God.  They wanted to use their own ways and system to explain the miracles.  Superficially it looked like they accepted the evangelists, but in fact they rejected the gospel.  Many people who sought after God with a preconceived notion, so they only wanted to hear what they wanted to hear and do what they wanted to do, but they don't really want to obey God and follow Him.  They would bring wreaths to everything except to the true God.  Many also like to bring wreath to signs and wonders, just like people of Lystra.  They liked to watch miracles and welcomed those who performed the miracles, but they don't want the salvation and word of God. When Jesus was on earth, many people followed Him; when He performed the miracle of feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish, they wanted to install Him as the king.  Wasn't Jesus supposed to be the king of the world?  But the Bible told us that Jesus didn't hand Himself to these people because He knew they just wanted to be fed instead of seriously following Him.  Later on, when Jesus took on the path of suffering, these people couldn't follow Him anymore; some left Him and some even turned around and persecuted Him. Others, especially those who are educated, would bring wreaths to rationality; we like to fit God into our ideologies, as if we are greater than God.  We are not advocating being superstitious here, for our God is the most rational and logical being; however, the rationality of God should never be limited by the rationality of human beings.  The Bible says that God's wisdom is higher than our wisdom and God's way is higher than our way.  We must humble ourselves if we want to truly know God.     Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Lord, please help us not to be like people of Lystra at that time, who would bring wreaths to many things.  May the light of the Holy Spirit shine upon us so that we can see the darkness and idols inside us, and may the Lord remove all of them so that we would simply turn back to our true God.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 14:1-10 At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed...  The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles.  There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them.  But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, 7where they continued to preach the good news.  In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked.  He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk. If we have enjoyed the benefits of the gospel, then we must come before God everyday to receive His grace.  The Bible teaches us that "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."  Paul and Barnabas were preaching at Lystra, and a man who was cripples and lame since birth was listening to them too.  He never thought that he would be healed because he had been lame for so long and he was born with the disability.  On that day, he heard that there's a God who created all things in the universe and who prepared a plan of salvation after human beings committed sin, and that God let His beloved son Jesus Christ die on the cross to take on the penalty of sin on behalf of all mankind.  He then heard that those who believed in Jesus could be set free from sin, and God was also happy to heal those who are brokenhearted and sick, and make them whole again.  When he heard Paul telling him, "stand up on your feet," without any hesitation he jumped up and started walking, and he was completely healed! Is our life crippled in any way?  Paul said that "for what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing."  We know what's right and wrong, but we are unable to live by the rules.  Many Christians are suffering from the fact that they are not bearing fruit in their life, and that's because they've never experienced the power of the gospel.  When we come before God by faith, however, and believe in His words and promises - not just agree with them rationally - and fully embrace them in our lives, we will be set free by the power of the gospel.  May the power of the gospel be manifested in our lives today!     Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Lord, we thank you because not only have you saved our souls, you are also able to set us free and heal our bodies.  Today, no matter how broken our life is, we can come before you and look upon you by faith.  May the grace of God come upon each and everyone who has read this message.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 13:38-43 "Therefore, my brothers, I want you to know that through Jesus the forgiveness of sins is proclaimed to you.  Through him everyone who believes is justified from everything you could not be justified from by the law of Moses.  Take care that what the prophets have said does not happen to you: 'Look, you scoffers, wonder and perish, for I am going to do something in your days that you would never believe, even if someone told you.'  As Paul and Barnabas were leaving the synagogue, the people invited them to speak further about these things on the next Sabbath..." We cannot be justified by law, but only by faith, because law can only reveal our sin.  Book of James says that law is like a mirror that we can use to see dirty spots on our face.  Seeing the dirty spot alone, however, won't cleanse our filthiness, and that's how the law works too.  Let's not be misled to believe that more laws will make us more holy, or more control will make people have better conscience; in fact, having more laws just means having more mirrors, but it won't help us to become cleaner. In our faith, we never rely on following the law to become justified.  What really makes us commit sin is not outward behavior, but rather our heart inside.  That's why Jesus said that when we judge and curse people in our hearts, it's same as if we commit murder.  Law can only regulate our outward behavior, but it won't change our hearts, and that's precisely why we need the gospel.  God prepared salvation for us because we cannot be justified by our good behavior, and we need His righteousness to be manifested in our life.  According to the law, we must accept God's judgment without any exception, but through the salvation of Jesus, the authority and bondage of law on us have been broken, and through redemption by precious blood of Jesus He has given us His blessings. God has made the sin-free savior take on all the penalties for our trespasses on our behalf.  It's like if we were on trial and we were supposed to be convicted, but someone told the judge that he's willing to take on all the penalties imposed on us on our behalf.  Suddenly, we have received freedom and no longer owe any debt of sin.  In the same way, Jesus has already taken on all the debt of sin on the cross on our behalf.  All we need to do is to believe and accept.  The Bible also says that the Lord is knocking on the door of our hearts.  We must note that this passage was not written for non-believers, but rather it was written to the Laodician church.  To the believers, God always has all kinds of grace for us to receive, and He's knocking on the doors on our hearts.  All we have to do is to open our hearts to receive Him!    Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Lord, I thank you because you are willing to give us all kinds of blessings.  May the Lord help us to be freed from the bondage of law and to come to you with a simple faith, so that we may receive all the blessings that you have prepared for us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 13:13-23 From Paphos, Paul and his companions sailed to Perga in Pamphylia, where John left them to return to Jerusalem.  From Perga they went on to Pisidian Antioch. On the Sabbath they entered the synagogue and sat down.  After the reading from the Law and the Prophets, the synagogue rulers sent word to them, saying, "Brothers, if you have a message of encouragement for the people, please speak."  Standing up, Paul motioned with his hand and said: "Men of Israel and you Gentiles who worship God, listen to me!  The God of the people of Israel chose our fathers; he made the people prosper during their stay in Egypt, with mighty power he led them out of that country, he endured their conduct for about forty years in the desert...  "From this man's descendants God has brought to Israel the Savior Jesus, as he promised." When Paul and Barnabas were moving forward, John left them.  This John was also named Mark, and his departure dealt a heavy blow to Paul.  When a ministry is in its infancy, it's frustrating to experience departure of coworkers.  Not only will it inflict deep guiltiness, the enemy will also attack and accuse those involved.  When you encounter such a situation, you can learn a few things from this passage. First, this is a process of growth in life.  To Paul, he needed to learn through the hard way how to work with others; to Mark, his youthful temperament needed to be dealt with.  Regardless of what happened, God's hands were still guiding them.  Therefore, when we confront such defeat, may God give us an open heart and bring ourselves before His working hands.  Whenever I read about Paul, Barnabas and Mark in the Bible, it reminds me of all types of brothers and sisters in the church.  Mark returned later and wrote the Gospel of Mark before God, and in the later letters we also see that his relationship with Paul was restored, and he became a good coworker of Paul.  Therefore, we don't need to be in despair because there's always hope that we will ultimately see God's hand working in everyone's life, and our hearts will once again rejoice. Second, we need to continue to serve loyally.  The ploy of the enemy is always to have us give up, so we must not fall for it.  Paul gave us a great example - Even though he encountered defeat in ministry, he still continued to take any opportunity to preach the gospel.  Loyalty is the most important test in serving God, because ministry is about the Kingdom of God, not about our feelings.  The most important thing is always whether the Kingdom of God can continue to expand, so may God place such faith inside us.    Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Lord, I want to especially pray for brothers and sisters who are encountering defeat in life or ministry.  May you comfort and encourage them again through this passage, so that they will understand this is a process for growth in life.  Help them not to feel frustrated or fearful, but let them keep on moving forward by depending on you, so that they will ultimately experience breakthrough in life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 13:4-12 The two of them, sent on their way by the Holy Spirit, went down to Seleucia and sailed from there to Cyprus.  ...The proconsul, an intelligent man, sent for Barnabas and Saul because he wanted to hear the word of God.  But Elymas the sorcerer (for that is what his name means) opposed them and tried to turn the proconsul from the faith. Then Saul, who was also called Paul, filled with the Holy Spirit, looked straight at Elymas and said,  "You are a child of the devil and an enemy of everything that is right! You are full of all kinds of deceit and trickery. Will you never stop perverting the right ways of the Lord?  Now the hand of the Lord is against you. You are going to be blind, and for a time you will be unable to see the light of the sun." Immediately mist and darkness came over him, and he groped about, seeking someone to lead him by the hand.  When the proconsul saw what had happened, he believed, for he was amazed at the teaching about the Lord. The Book of Acts is indeed the Book of the Acts of the Holy Spirit, because the gospel did not spread out because of the zeal or talents of people, but by the guidance and power of the Holy Spirit.  That's why after the Lord ascended to heaven, He asked the disciples to wait upon the coming of the Holy Spirit.  Acts chapter two describes how the Holy Spirit came down and empowered the disciples to stand up and testify for the Lord; they preached the gospel and led three thousand people to accept the Lord.  In Acts chapters three and four, by the power of the Holy Spirit the apostles were able to heal the sick and preach the gospel.  In Acts chapter five, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the sin of Ananias was revealed and it became a warning for the early church.  In Acts chapters six and seven, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit the apostles were able to resolve a crisis in the church.  In Acts chapter eight, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit Philip was taken to the wilderness and shared gospel with the Ethiopian eunuch and led him to the Lord.  In Acts chapter nine, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Ananias was sent to minister to Paul, and Peter was filled by the Spirit that he healed all kinds of illnesses.  In chapter ten and eleven, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Peter entered the house of Cornelius to share the gospel with them.  In Acts chapter thirteen, under the guidance of the Holy Spirit, Paul and Barnabas were sent to gentile land to preach the gospel, and God's will is accomplished around the world because of their obedience. God is still searching for obedient vessels today.  Even though He can always accomplish things in His own ways, the principle of God is to always choose vessels to work with Him.  God is now looking for those who are willing to break out from traditions, disregard the plans and methods of people, and follow the guidance and ways of the Holy Spirit.  The gospel has been spreading out by the early church, even till today, because they were obedient.  Similarly, when we are obedient to God, his grace will also flow out to all places through our lives.  Are you will to become such a vessel?    Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Lord, I thank you for the privilege of allowing us to work together with you.  Help us to become vessels that obey you, and may your will be manifested through us under the guidance of the Holy Spirit.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 13:3 So after they had fasted and prayed, they placed their hands on them and sent them off. Holy Spirit often speaks to us when we are praying.  It might not be exactly during your time of prayer, because you might be praying silently in your heart all the time, asking God questions.  It's the kind of prayer that takes place inside the heart, not the prayer life on the outside.  The four gospels often talk about how Jesus retreated to the wilderness to pray, but our prayers are often influenced by utilitarianism; we pray so that we may receive power and blessing, else we feel that we're wasting time.  When Jesus prayed, He seldom asked for more wisdom or strength, but He just wanted to be closer to Father God, and that was the greatest incentive for His prayer. Often times we can't hear God's voice when we pray because our attitude is wrong to begin with.  God is more than happy to talk to us, but we must be willing to become closer to Him.  When we are close to Him, we'd find that it's not all that difficult to seek His will.  The apostles gave us a great example here; after they fasted and prayed, the Holy Spirit spoke to them and sent Barnabas and Paul out for the work of evangelism.  The church immediately laid hands on their heads and sent them out.  As soon as we know God's will, we must proceed boldly.  The church at the time could have deliberated their move, perhaps send the less competent ones out first, and send out the best ones only after the other coworkers are well trained.  Nevertheless, they obeyed God immediately without holding anything back.  May God help us, let us obey God in our lives as soon as we hear His voice. One time a prophet prayed for me, and he cleared prophesied that God wants me to preach the gospel to those who believe in folk religions and break the authority of darkness from the folk religions.  As soon as I received such message, many churches started to invite me to conduct evangelistic meetings.  At first I hesitated, but then I thought about the message from the prophet and I knew that if I obeyed I would see the results of my obedience.  So, when you come before God to seek His will, you must first ask God to grant you a submissive heart, and you will see how the Holy Spirit opens doors for you on whatever you are praying for.    Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Lord, I thank you because you are willing to speak to us, and you are willing to have your promises fulfilled in our lives.  May you bless each brother and sister, give them an obedient heart so that they would be willing to follow you and experience how you fulfill your promises in their lives.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 13:2 While they were worshiping the Lord and fasting, the Holy Spirit said, "Set apart for me Barnabas and Saul for the work to which I have called them." When the early church fasted and prayed, the Holy Spirit spoke to them.  Although we all believe that in theory, we rarely experience such a breakthrough in reality.  How does the Holy Spirit speak to us? There are three ways: First of all, the Holy Spirit speaks to us directly, through thoughts and impressions.  Sometimes, when reading the Bible, we may be deeply touched by the Holy Spirit, and know that it is God's guidance. Francis Schaeffer is a mighty servant of God.  When he was a student in the seminary, he was very poor and could not afford any lodging one year when he was in seminary.  He came before God and prayed, asking for guidance for his future. During his prayer, he heard a voice in his heart which he thought was his Uncle Harrison.  Although he had not spent much time with this uncle and had not been in contact with him for many years, he decided to write a letter to this uncle explaining his need for accommodation, given the prompting by the Holy Spirit.  To his surprise, his uncle replied offering him a place for him to stay in.  God used this to solve his accommodation problems.  Indeed, the Holy Spirit will guide directly by His prompting in our hearts. Let us remember not to extinguish the Spirit's prompting.          Secondly, the Holy Spirit often speaks to us through our brothers and sisters.  In Acts Chapter 9, Acts, God sent Ananias to tell Paul about what He is planning to do.  Many times God wants us to humble ourselves, to stop relying on ourselves, but to learn to humbly receive his guidance. Thirdly, the Holy Spirit can speak to us through meetings and discussions. In Acts Chapter 15, at the council in Jerusalem, the Holy Spirit spoke through a debate.  Through the process of the debate, the human heart is exposed and the obstacles people face are also exposed. When the Holy Spirit to reveals these obstacles, we can humble ourselves to listen to the voice of God.  Let's pray that God will help us to learn to humble ourselves each day, to desire for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in our lives.      Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Lord, we pray that you will soften our hearts so that we may hear the voice of the Holy Spirit. I pray blessings over every brother and sister that each time they seek you, you will speak to them.  Remove any obstacles that prevent them from hearing you, and make your will known to them. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Acts 13:1 In the church at Antioch there were prophets and teachers: Barnabas, Simeon called Niger, Lucius of Cyrene, Manaen (who had been brought up with Herod the tetrarch) and Saul. The Antioch church had a variety of gifts that were working together.  This was not an easy task because it is hard for people with different gifts and different personalities to work together. A prophet typically has a very strong and decisive personality, whereas a teacher tends to very cautious and always thinking twice. The church has all kinds of gifts, personalities, and should not say "I do not need you". The Bible clearly tells us, "Do not despise the words of the prophet" because the prophets can better hear the voice of God. At times, God also uses visions, pictures and dreams to lead us and guide us.  A prophet's words need to be tested.  Although he may be right in 99 prophecies, his 100th prophecy may not be correct.  Sometimes the words of the prophet come with conditions and require you to act according to God's promises in order for the prophecy to be fulfilled. At other times, the words of the prophets may relate to different timing. The Old Testament prophets spoke about the first coming and the second coming of Jesus altogether, which can be confusing.  Although it may seem clear to us now, it was difficult for the prophets back then to distinguish between the two. This does not mean that the prophet's words were wrong.  It was merely the result of discussing two different things at one time. Ultimately, we still need to respect the prophets. Although the prophets can release God's people by their words, spiritual growth still requires a longer-term and more systematic teaching. Jesus gave us the Great Commission, saying, "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."  God's primary focus is on teaching, and although sometimes teaching can be very boring and time-consuming, it is an important foundation to build.  Prophets can discern the will of God and move God's people forward.  Teachers can strengthen God's people to ward off the attacks of the enemy.  In reality, every gift that God gives to the church is very important.  Just like each key on a piano, although some are used more than others, every key is important, and you will not be able to play some beautiful songs with any key missing.  Let's pray that God will give us humble hearts to accept one another.    Pray with Pastor Tong Liu     Lord, we thank you for the different gifts that are operating within the church in order to accomplish your will.  We pray, Lord, that you will grant us humility to accept one another so that your glory may be manifested in the church.  We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!