Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 7:10-12   The Lord said to Joshua, "Stand up! What are you doing down on your face? Israel has sinned; they have violated my covenant, which I commanded them to keep. They have taken some of the devoted things; they have stolen, they have lied, they have put them with their own possessions. That is why the Israelites cannot stand against their enemies; they turn their backs and run because they have been made liable to destruction. I will not be with you anymore unless you destroy whatever among you is devoted to destruction.   Joshua sought God's face, and God revealed to him the truth behind what happened. Apparently some among the Israelites did not obey God's command; they took possession of the devoted things from Jericho and enraged God, and that's why the Israelites were defeated in the town of Ai. No one knew what happened because Achan alone secretly kept some of the devoted things to himself, but God revealed to Joshua the reason why they lost the battle. It's not easy for people to know why they failed; when we fail, we often blame on the circumstance or other people. This is particularly true in the American society, where everyone thinks they are victimized; we think it's always someone else's fault and we neglect our own accountability. Our greatest weakness, after all, is not knowing our own sin.   One time, disciples passed by a village in Samaria, but the villagers refused to receive them. The disciples then asked the Lord to ask the angels to send down fire and burn everyone in the village to death. The Lord, however, rebuked the disciples. That's why we need to pray - We often don't know and don't understand who we really are inside. May God open our hearts for us to see who we really are, like how God sees us. Once we humble ourselves and seek God's face, the Lord will reveal the truth to us.   The Lord clearly told Joshua the reason of their failure and how to deal with it. Sometimes we, not someone else, are the reason that hinders us from enjoying more of God's grace! We must remove these hindrances so that God's presence may keep on manifesting. Brothers and sisters, we really need the spiritual light from the Lord to enlighten us in order for us to see ourselves as how God sees us. May the Lord's spirit give us sufficient strength to remove all the devoted things from our lives, so that the power from God's presence will continue to reside in our lives and never leave us.   Pray with Pastor Tong       Lord, I thank you because you are a holy God, and you want us to be holy too. May the Lord's Spirit examine our hearts to see our own weaknesses, and give us strength to remove these weaknesses. Let us live in the glory of your presence each and every day! I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 7:7-9   And Joshua said, "Alas, Sovereign Lord, why did you ever bring this people across the Jordan to deliver us into the hands of the Amorites to destroy us? If only we had been content to stay on the other side of the Jordan! Pardon your servant, Lord. What can I say, now that Israel has been routed by its enemies? The Canaanites and the other people of the country will hear about this and they will surround us and wipe out our name from the earth. What then will you do for your own great name?"   Joshua is one who understands how to cry out to God. Not only did he clearly explain his hardship to God, he also held on to God's name when he prayed. When we are in hardship, we often just see our own needs and grievances, and we would pray hard for our circumstance. Actually, our prayers are not answered because we are in pitiful circumstance, but rather because we hold on to God's promises by faith. When the early church was persecuted by the Jewish leaders, they didn't withdraw because they were afraid; on the contrary, they prayed loudly and said "Now, Lord, consider their threats and enable your servants to speak your word with great boldness. 30 Stretch out your hand to heal and perform signs and wonders through the name of your holy servant Jesus." This pray carried power not because it centered on the needs of men, but it centered on God.   Effective prayers are those that hold on to God. Even though we begin with our own needs, but we don't just stop there, but rather we move on from our own needs to the promises of God. That's how Joshua prayed - He not only cared about name of Isrealites, but more importantly name of the Lord. I liked how Joshua called the Lord's name as "your own great name." He didn't just say this to please God, but he sincerely believed that the Lord's name is great, and he also understood that name of God is connected with name of His people.   From human perspective, how does it matter to God if the name of Israel is wiped off from the earth? The Bible says that God created heaven and earth and He owns everything, so He can obviously lift His own name up. Joshua, however, understood God's will in that He wanted to connect His name with the name of His people. Joshua held on to God's will and started to pray to God boldly in His name, because God will not put His name of shame. The Bible says with apart from God we can do nothing, but apart from us the Lord will do nothing. He chose to work with us and have His name glorified through us, and that's why He sent Jesus to the world. Once you understand this truth, your prayer will start to change. You won't just focus on your own pitifulness and weakness, but you will value God's will more and your prayer will become powerful!   Pray with Pastor Tong       Lord, I ask that you teach us how to pray, not only to care about ourselves, but to see how your name can be glorified through our needs. Let us not just hold on tightly to our own wounds, but to hold on to your name, and become victorious in your name. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 7:4-6    "So about three thousand went up; but they were routed by the men of Ai, who killed about thirty-six of them. They chased the Israelites from the city gate as far as the stone quarries and struck them down on the slopes. At this the hearts of the people melted in fear and became like water. Then Joshua tore his clothes and fell facedown to the ground before the ark of the Lord, remaining there till evening. The elders of Israel did the same, and sprinkled dust on their heads."             Prior to the battle of Ai, Joshua was careless and didn't seek the Lord. But the defeat at Ai brought the hearts of the leaders back to God. They thought that God was with them until they suffered a defeat. Had the Lord left them? If so, how should they continue the warfare? Not only this was a huge setback for the Israelites, it was a greater setback for the leaders, especially Joshua. After all, Joshua was a man of God, and he gathered all the elders to the Lord. What a great example this is to us. When you face difficult situations, the first thing you should do is neither having crisis meetings nor finding faults. Instead, you need to come before the Lord and seek His face. Joshua led the elders of Israel and did a few things:             Firstly, they tore their clothes and sprinkled dust on their heads, which represents their attitude of repentance. They did not find fault with each other but confess own sins before God, and even do it on behalf of the Israelites. Just like Nehemiah, but he saw that the wall of Jerusalem was broken down, he confessed his own sins, saying "Lord, I confess the sins we Israelites, including myself and my father's family." From the human point of view, what did he have to do with Jerusalem? But at that time at that place, he was confessing his sins on behalf of the Israelites, similar to what Joshua and the elders did. Sometimes God placed this burden to confess on behalf of others in us so that we would temporarily bear the sins of other in order that His righteous may reveal and His healing may come.             Secondly, they fell facedown and remained there till evening, waiting for God to speak. Repentance alone is not sufficient; we need to understand the will of God and His way of doing things. Waiting here refers not to random and short waiting, it refers to long wait, and here in this passage of scriptures, it is till evening. And since they seek the Lord, they understood the will of God. Dear brothers and sisters, are you seeking the will of God? May the Lord teach us to seek His face and wait for His guidance.   Pray with Pastor Tong       Dear Lord, I pray for those that are seeking Your will. Please do not hide Your face from them. May the Spirit of the Lord touch them right now, that they may see Your deeds and understand Your will. I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 7:1-3   But the Israelites were unfaithful in regard to the devoted things; Achan son of Karmi, the son of Zimri,the son of Zerah, of the tribe of Judah, took some of them. So the Lord's anger burned against Israel. Now Joshua sent men from Jericho to Ai, which is near Beth Aven to the east of Bethel, and told them, "Go up and spy out the region." So the men went up and spied out Ai. When they returned to Joshua, they said, "Not all the army will have to go up against Ai. Send two or three thousand men to take it and do not weary the whole army, for only a few people live there."            The defeat of Ai was not only due to Achan's sin, but also Israelites for relying too much on themselves. The battle of Jericho was too smooth and the Israelites became known throughout the land of Canaan, therefore the spies that went to Ai reported that the city would be easy to conquer compared to Jericho because there weren't many that lived in Ai. Two or three thousand men would be enough, and hence don't need to send the whole army. They ended up being defeated by men of Ai.             The battle of Ai revealed the weak nature of men, which is the tendency of relying on one's flesh. The weakness of Christians doesn't lie with Christian being weak but lies with Christians being too able and wanting to do things in their own way via their own strength and wisdom. It seems like many Christians are saying to the Lord, "Lord, I know You are very busy so don't worry about me, I have had everything figured out and will have no problem!" This does not mean you shouldn't prepare or plan for anything, but this does mean that we need to allow God to work in our lives in the midst of our planning and preparations.             Not only did the spies not relying on God, Joshua also had the same problem. In the past, he sought the will of God in every important thing and would get up early in the morning to seek the will of God. But in the battle of Ai, he did not seek the Lord's will. We are usually more alert when we are facing big challenge. During a mission trip to Vancouver, we led different services in different places every day, and everyone was nervous. Hence we all pray earnestly because we were concern that things would go wrong, and we experienced great victory. After we came back, we became not alerted and relaxed since we were back to familiar circumstances. May the Lord help us to be alert before the Lord, so that we won't live our lives by our strength and our might, but by the Spirit of God.   Pray with Pastor Tong       Dear Lord, may You once again remind us to put our hope in You every day. For not only You are the Lord that lead us to conquer Jericho, you are also the Lord that lead us to conquer Ai. Help us to seek Your will more and rely on You more. I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 6:26-27    "At that time Joshua pronounced this solemn oath: "Cursed before the Lord is the one who undertakes to rebuild this city, Jericho: 'At the cost of his firstborn son he will lay its foundations; at the cost of his youngest he will set up its gates.' So the Lord was with Joshua, and his fame spread throughout the land."             After the battle of Jericho, Joshua led the Israelites to make an oath before the Lord. There wasn't much details about the oath, but the Word of God never fails. In 1 Kings 16:34, "In Ahab's time, Hiel of Bethel rebuilt Jericho. He laid its foundations at the cost of his firstborn son Abiram, and he set up its gates at the cost of his youngest son Segub, in accordance with the word of the Lord spoken by Joshua of Nun."             Many like to ask if the Word of God is still powerful since it was written long ago. I like how a pastor responses: Just like the sun, it has been around for tens of millions of years, do you feel warm when the sun shines on you? Sun has been around for many years but it didn't lose its warmness. In the same way, the Word of God has been around for thousands of years, yet it didn't lose its power to transform lives. The Word of God is powerful and could never fail, Bible says that "It is easier for heaven and earth to disappear than for the least stroke of a pen to drop out of the Law." The Word of God is still the principle and model of our living; we need to spend time in studying it and actively obeying it.             When Joshua obeyed the Lord, the Lord was with him, and his fame spread throughout the land. The reason that Joshua was exalted was because of the presence of God. We do not need to exalt ourselves or busy marketing ourselves, for only the presence of God can prosper us. Just like what Moses proclaimed in Exodus 33:16, "How will anyone know that you are pleased with me and with your people unless you go with us? What else will distinguish me and your people from all the other people on the face of the earth?" Therefore what we seek should be the presence of God.             Indeed God is with everyone who believes in the New Testament era. But does the presence of God being manifested in such a way that people can feel it? In other words, are we entering the presence of God in our daily life? Not only we need the presence of God, we need to enter into the presence of God to enjoy His presence. It is only in His presence that our lives can be transformed and His will can be made known to us. Do you have such assurance and such experience?   Pray with Pastor Tong       Dear Lord, I thank you, for You have broken every chain of sins, so that we may come before Your throne and enjoy Your presence. May the Lord help us to draw near to You daily to enter into Your presence, understand Your will, and receive Your grace. I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 6:24-25   "Then they burned the whole city and everything in it, but they put the silver and gold and the articles of bronze and iron into the treasury of the Lord's house. But Joshua spared Rahab the prostitute, with her family and all who belonged to her, because she hid the men Joshua had sent as spies to Jericho-and she lives among the Israelites to this day."             Isn't it easy to read about the faith story of others? It seems so straight forward when we read the story of Rahab, but if we think about it, Rahab needed to make a difficult decision when the two spies went into her house. Should she hide them and take the risk of being put to death if the people of Jericho found out, or should she hand them over to the people of Jericho but losing the opportunity to be saved? Of course, there was no guarantee the future of her family even if she hid the spies. I believe that her heart was filled with struggles.             As a matter of fact, every act of faith requires risk taking. Many want to follow step by step, to walk only when things are clear, but Bible defines faith as "confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see". This doesn't mean that we should be blindfolded, but this does mean that we should hold tight to the word of God and match forward courageously. First, the faith is built upon the word of God. Just like when you drive from San Jose to Los Angeles, you don't see Los Angeles from Freeway 5, but map would tell you that stay with Freeway 5 and you will eventually arrive. So as long as you stick with Freeway 5 you will eventually arrive at Los Angeles, even when there are times where visibility are low. Likewise, Bible is your map in our spiritual journey, for the promise of God is powerful and none will fail.             Secondly, we need to walk courageously once we understand the Word of God. In the movie "Indiana Jones and the Raiders of the Lost Ark", there was a story about a holy grail. Indiana Jones went in a cave and saw that there was no road ahead, but he still moved courageously since the map indicated that there is a road ahead. As he stepped into the air, a bridge that came out of nowhere hold his feet, and he walked passed. That step is a step of faith. It is neither blindfold nor good luck, it is by faith. A real faith demands that step of faith. From the angle of human, it is risk taking, but which valuables are acquired without taking some risks? Is the Word of God not worthy of us investing our lives in it? May the Lord grant us a faith like Rahab!    Pray with Pastor Tong       Dear Lord, I thank you, for You are the author and finisher of our faith. I pray for those that are struggling on their journey of faith. May You grant them a courageous hearts to be able to trust in You and choose to walk in Your way in their current circumstances. And You will lead them into victory after victory. I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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