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!