Daily Devotion

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 4:12-16   When Jesus heard that John had been put in prison, he withdrew to Galilee. Leaving Nazareth, he went and lived in Capernaum, which was by the lake in the area of Zebulun and Naphtali - to fulfill what was said through the prophet Isaiah: "Land of Zebulun and land of Naphtali, the Way of the Sea, beyond the Jordan, Galilee of the Gentiles - the people living in darkness have seen a great light; on those living in the land of the shadow of death a light has dawned."   I had the opportunity to take a course in Israel, and when we passed by Sea of Galilee I saw that it was surrounded by tall mountains. There are not mountains with gradual slopes, buy very steep cliffs with mountains that top at least 3000 feet. Therefore, Sea of Galilee lives in the shadow of the mountains around it. When I had the opportunity to walk on the shores of Sea of Galilee, I deeply felt that it was like the condition of the whole world. We are like living under a shadow; even though there are many joyful and cheerful moments, but we are undeniably living under some kind of shadow deep down inside our soul. People can't see direction under such shadow, their way forward is unclear, they don't know where they should go, and they have no real sense of security. People had no hope and only wanted to survive for their own benefits. There's no peace between people and the world is filled with conflicts.   Our society today is filled with dark shadows. Not only is our environment dark, hearts of people are dark as well. We might not be able to see it from the outside, but hearts of people are filled with vicious thoughts. I once saw an ad on the newspaper for a machine for releasing anger while driving. If someone cuts you off when you are driving, you can use this machine to make some special noise. You can choose from minor assault, major assault or death - Once you press the button, it will make a machine gun noise that makes you feel that you've shot someone. Even though you didn't shoot anyone, but in your mind you feel that you've put someone to death. Even though everyone looks like upright and happy people from outside, only we know all the thoughts of darkness and filthiness inside us. To make matters worse, even though we living in darkness, we are unable to free ourselves from it.   Praise God, because of His word we don't need to stay in such despair and darkness. Even though people were disobedient and have rejected God, He has sent Jesus Christ according to His eternal plan so that He can enter into our lives. Those who are supposed to suffer, who cannot see, are living in the darkness or have been neglected, will all receive glory! Those who are walking in the darkness will see great light. Those living in the shadow of the valley of death will have light shining upon them. This is a picture of leaving the darkness and entering into light, which is what Jesus Christ wants to accomplish in our lives!    Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, we welcome you into our lives, just like light entering into darkness. You can remove all the shadow and darkness in our lives so that we may be delivered from the bondage of sin. I thank and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Forward email This email was sent to devotion1.santaclaracalifornia@blogger.com by sisterrachel99@yahoo.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Daily Devotion

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 4:8-11   Again, the devil took him to a very high mountain and showed him all the kingdoms of the world and their splendor.  "All this I will give you," he said, "if you will bow down and worship me." Jesus said to him, "Away from me, Satan! For it is written: 'Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only.'" Then the devil left him, and angels came and attended him.   The devil presented the entire world before Jesus in order to tempt Him, and he mentioned two things that represent the foundation of the worldly value, which are authority and riches of the world. Authority is for ruling over others, and riches are for satisfying ourselves, and these two things form the foundation of the values of the world. Trend of the world wants us to rule over others and satisfy ourselves, so we often experience how, in both life and work, people work hard towards rising up by stepping over others. Those are not the values of God's kingdom though. Values of God's kingdom are the same as family values, and in family it's more important to love one another and be accountable for one another. We no longer rule over others, but we want to build up others; we don't just seek to satisfy ourselves, but rather to satisfy others.   Jesus clearly knew that He bellowed to God's kingdom. He was there to lead the sinners to enter the family of God. Therefore, the Lord clearly recognized the devil's ploy and He rebuked the work of the enemy. We belong to God; we no longer follow the trend of the world, and we shouldn't allow the values of the world to influence us. Instead, we should follow the values of God's kingdom and be willing to build up others and satisfy their needs. On the other hand, the secret of dismissing the enemy is to rebuke the world of the enemy with the words of God's kingdom when we are confronting the world and Satan. When the devil tempted Jesus, the Lord rebuked him, so when we confront the enemy we should also proclaim the word of God's kingdom. Jesus has already granted us the authority to overcome. When we pray for others, we don't need to beg for mercy. We can come before God knowing that we have the authority and assurance to overcome, and we need to proclaim victory again the enemy and the world according to the authority that God has given us.   It is important to proclaim in our daily life in order to overcome by the name of the Lord. When we proclaim the victory of Christ against the enemy, the enemy will flee from us. Not only should we rebuke Satan, we also need to worship true God. Jesus said here: "Worship the Lord your God, and serve him only." When we worship true God, we welcome the throne of Christ to be established among us, and the devil must flee because there's no room for him. Let us worship continuously in our daily life, to welcome the authority of Jesus, and to rebuke the work of enemy Satan by the authority that Christ has granted us.    Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, we welcome you to sit on the throne in our lives. We want to worship you and serve you alone. May your spirit help us to understand the authority that you've given us. In the victorious name of Jesus, I rebuke any of the enemy's work on me. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Forward email This email was sent to devotion1.santaclaracalifornia@blogger.com by sisterrachel99@yahoo.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Hurry-Saving on Ebooks

Important: this email's sent from Ebooks-Easily.com Contract us at: admin@ebooks-easily.com Don't miss out eTextbooks! Yes! Click to http://www.ebooks-easily.com Send email if you want us update new etextbooks! Copyright@Ebooks-Easily.com Inc., all rights reserved.

Daily Devotion

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 4:5-7   Then the devil took him to the holy city and had him stand on the highest point of the temple.  "If you are the Son of God," he said, "throw yourself down. For it is written: "'He will command his angels concerning you, and they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "It is also written: 'Do not put the Lord your God to the test.'"   When the devil tempted Jesus, he asked Jesus to jump off from the roof of the temple because he said that God had promised that He will lift us up. Actually, God never made such a promise. The devil was quoting Psalm 91:11-12: "For he will command his angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone." When devil quoted this passage, he purposely skipped "to guard you in all your ways," but not to doing something away from his ways like jumping off a building. Jesus clearly knew the ploy of the devil was to tempt us by distorting God's word. Therefore, He responded to the devil by saying: "Do not put the Lord your God to the test." Tempting means using our own ways and rationality to do things that God never told us to do, and that's why we can't expect God to be responsible for the outcome. When a person, however, is doing what God told him to do, and he can expect God to take responsibility for what he did.   Even though God sometimes instructs us to do things that are beyond what our rationality can comprehend, as long as God has instructed us, He will be responsible for completing it with His zeal. When Abraham was about to sacrifice Isaac by placing Isaac on the altar, God prepared a lamb to replace Isaac. When Moses led the Israelites to cross the Red Sea, as soon as he pointed his staff to the sea, Red Sea parted. When Joshua led the Israelites to cross the Jordan River, as soon as the feet of the Israelites touched river water, the river parted. God instructed them, they followed His instructions, and they could expect God to be responsible for the outcome.   We often like to tempt God, so may God help us to read His Word so that we may stay on the right path. The Bible tells us that God's Word is the lamp to our feet and light to our paths; when we read God's Word, it becomes our strength. Not only that, we should also follow His Word in our daily life so that we will not offend Him. When we follow God's Word and walk on God's path, we will experience His faithfulness. Let us be sensitive to God's guidance in our lives!    Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, I thank you because you are the God who protects us, and we can look upon you in our daily life. May the Lord guard our hearts so that we won't tempt you. Let your Word become the lamp to our feet and light to our paths, so that we may depend on you to overcome all the attacks from the devil Satan each and every day. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Forward email This email was sent to devotion1.santaclaracalifornia@blogger.com by sisterrachel99@yahoo.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Daily Devotion

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 4:3-4   The tempter came to him and said, "If you are the Son of God, tell these stones to become bread." Jesus answered, "It is written: 'Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God.'   When the devil tempts people, it typically uses either deception or accusation, and these ploys are like the left hook and right hook by the devil. First, devil likes to deceive us, asking whether "if you are the son of God." This is a serious accusation! Devil tried to fool Jesus with: Are you really the son of God? How could God treat you this way? Devil often tries to fool us into not believing God is all good and all kind. Even if we believe that God is love, we might not believe that God really loves us, and we may not even believe in God's promises.   When I was approaching 40 years old, I was deeply depressed and I asked friends not to celebrate my birthday, because I felt that once I reached 40 my life was half over. Some people say that 40 years old is "over the hill"; if I've passed the hilltop, it means I'm just going downhill. I felt depressed and I prayed before God; then God's Spirit reminded me that the Bible never taught us that. Then, who told us that we are over the hill? It was the world! The voice of the world often deceives us and influences us in our lives, to the point that it may drive our spirit down to depression. I went back to God and read His word again, and Paul said in Philippians chapter three: "Forgetting what is behind and straining toward what is ahead, I press on toward the goal to win the prize for which God has called me heavenward in Christ Jesus." I heart was suddenly released; the goal of my life has changed and I am no longer going down the hill like the world suggested. I want to climb up instead to receive the prize that God has called me from above for. Hallelujah! Even though devil deceives us, God's word can always give us strength.   Next, "if you are the son of God" is also an accusation. If devil cannot deceive you, it will try to accuse you, especially if you are serving God. Devil will tell you: You are not worthy to serve God! You got so mad last night! How could you have been baptized, you haven't even finished reading the Bible once! Many people are living under the accusations by devil and they cannot get up to serve God. The best way to overcome devil's accusation is to proclaim the mercy of God. We are never worthy by our own might no matter how great we are, so the question is not whether we are worthy or not, but we are worthy because of God's mercy. Therefore, we can always stand up high and serve God by His mercy!    Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, may your Spirit help to be released from the deception and accusation of the devil, because you are the Almighty Lord. Your word is always our strength and your mercy is what drives us to serve. May you come and reaffirm our commitment to you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Forward email This email was sent to devotion1.santaclaracalifornia@blogger.com by sisterrachel99@yahoo.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Daily Devotion

Having trouble viewing this email? Click here

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Matthew 4:1-2   Morale of the story - Son steps on a cockroach, daughter. After fasting forty days and forty nights, he was hungry.   Jesus was tempted in the wilderness so that He could be prepared for what He was about to do on earth. There are several truths here. First, Jesus was tempted through the guidance by the Holy Spirit. God uses temptations to put us through trials. In the Bible, temptation and trial are two different things from different sources for different objectives. Temptation is from the devil, as it says in the Book of James that God doesn't tempt anyone. The outcome of temptation by the devil is that people will question God and even become distant from God. Trials, on the other hand, are from God, for He wants to purify our hearts through what we experience from the circumstance around us, and thus produce fruit of peace from us. Through trials, God also tempts us to shape our lives more like Him. Temptations and trials can happen at the same time; devil often uses the circumstance around us to tempt us, while God tests our hearts at the same time in order to see whether we truly fear God. The Bible mentions many times that God is the God who puts us through trials; when Abraham went to Mount Moriah and prepared to sacrifice Isaac, Genesis 22 clearly tells us that God wanted to test Abraham.     In Exodus, the Israelites wandered in the wilderness for forty years, and the Bible says that God wanted to test the Israelites to see whether theirs hearts would turn back to God. In New Testament time, in the story of five loaves and two fish, the Lord asked Philip where they should buy food for all these people, and the Gospel of John says that Jesus said that to test Philip. Unfortunately, Philip didn't know what Jesus was doing, and thus missed His work. May God help us to have sensitive hearts so that we can discern God's deeds, and be sensitive to what He's doing on us.   Second, the secret of overcoming any temptation is to fast and pray. Fasting is a type of exercise in prayer. The goal of fasting is not just to suffer, but to set ourselves apart, and to break out from our daily routine to focus on seeking God. Hunger and food represent daily life; we are often constrained by our daily life and cannot seek God wholeheartedly. Through fasting we may bring our hearts before God to be close to Him, and God will give us strength to overcome temptations daily. Fasting prayer in itself is not sacred, but through it our hearts can be set apart to be closer to God and understand His will. May God help us to understand His will through the trials that we encounter daily, so that His will for us may be done.    Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, we thank you because you are the Lord who tests us, and you are also the Lord who saves us when we are tempted. We once again honor you because you are our Lord, and we ask that your wonderful will be done on us. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Forward email This email was sent to devotion1.santaclaracalifornia@blogger.com by sisterrachel99@yahoo.com |   Update Profile/Email Address | Instant removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054