Thursday, October 31, 2013

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 32:8-11

  

I will instruct you and teach you in the way you should go; I will counsel you with my loving eye on you. Do not be like the horse or the mule, which have no understanding but must be controlled by bit and bridle or they will not come to you. Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him. Rejoice in the Lord and be glad, you righteous; sing, all you who are upright in heart!

  

The psalmist taught us to obey God, because He will instruct us and guide us all our life and He will show us the way we should go. God will also counsel us with his loving eyes, so that we can take every step in the way in His will. We sometimes are like horses that run ahead of God. Sometimes we dash forward without waiting for God speaking to us. It's like back in the time of Samuel, when King Saul was waiting for Samuel to offer the sacrifice, but Samuel didn't show up on time, so Saul offered the sacrifice himself. Samuel arrived as soon as Saul was done, and Saul realized that he didn't the wrong thing, because back in the Old Testament time only priests could offer sacrifice. Saul simply got impatient and went ahead of God. Aren't we often like that? When things are urgent, we always think: "God, I can't wait for you anymore, I must do it now! I still have strength and ideas, so I'm going to take care of it in my own way," but we end up messing things up even more. May the Lord help us not to be like horses that run ahead of God.

 

May the Lord also help us not to be like mules and refuse to move forward. Sometimes we're like mules that don't obey God before Him, and we often need to be disciplined by God. May the Spirit of God help us, help us to see that God is happy to guide us. Brothers and sisters, God is willing to keep His eyes on us and counsel us, but we need to ask God for a humble and soft heart, not to be like horses that run ahead of God, but also not to be like mules that stay behind and refuse to go, not following God closely. May God help us to be humble servants; when God speaks to us, we shall follow. Verse 10 says that "Many are the woes of the wicked, but the Lord's unfailing love surrounds the one who trusts in him." When we don't obey God, we will suffer woes, because God's blessing and grace cannot come upon us, and we can't experience how God will make way for us. Therefore, our hearts are filled with complaints and bitterness. Those who obey God, however, will be surrounded by love and grace, because God will make way for them!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, we once again ask you to give us a humble and soft heart. Let us obey you, not run ahead of you or stay behind and refuse to move forward, but to follow you closely. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!    

           
         
This email was sent to devotion1.9844691946@blogger.com by edevotion@rolcc.net |  
River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Wednesday, October 30, 2013

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 32:1-7

  

Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit. When I kept silent, my bones wasted away through my groaning all day long. For day and night your hand was heavy on me; my strength was sapped as in the heat of summer. Then I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity. I said, "I will confess my transgressions to the Lord." And you forgave the guilt of my sin. Therefore let all the faithful pray to you while you may be found; surely the rising of the mighty waters will not reach them. You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance.

  

Verse 1 says that "Blessed is the one whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered." When a person's sins are forgiven by God, he will have peace in his heart and he's truly blessed. Verse 2 says that "Blessed is the one whose sin the Lord does not count against them and in whose spirit is no deceit." When we come before God, no one can claim to be completely righteous, and no one can say "I deserve all the grace of God!" Nevertheless, when we come before God with no deceit in our hear, which means we depend on God with a honest heart and put our trust in the path to salvation that God has prepared for us through the way of the cross of Jesus Christ, God will not consider us sinful. Even though we have sinned and fallen into the authority of darkness before, when we sincerely believe in the salvation that God has prepared for us, God will not consider us sinful, and that's why we are so blessed!

 

If we are like what verse 3 described - we keep silent and don't confess that we are sinful, and we are conceited and don't want to humbly come before God, we will groan all day and our bones will waste away! Sin is accusing us from inside and our hearts will not receive peace and our soul will not have tranquility. Verse 4 says that day and night God's hand is on us and we feel heavy. If you do not confess your sins, you will feel heaviness in your heart and you will never be delivered and enjoy true freedom.

 

Verse 5 says that "I acknowledged my sin to you and did not cover up my iniquity." As soon as we confess our sins, God will forgive us. 1 John 1:9 says "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness." Brothers and sisters, are you living in sin and transgressions? When you are willing to turn back to God, you will once again receive the peace from the punishment that Jesus received, and be healed from the wounds that Jesus suffered, and your life will once again be satisfied. Verse 7 says that "You are my hiding place; you will protect me from trouble and surround me with songs of deliverance." Let us confess our sins, and God will once again will our life with the joy of salvation!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, may you open our eyes so that we can see how weak we are and how we've fallen short. When we confess our transgressions, you will forgive all our sins and wipe away our transgressions, and let our soul once again be set free. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!    

           
         
This email was sent to devotion1.9844691946@blogger.com by edevotion@rolcc.net |  
River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Tuesday, October 29, 2013

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 31:17-24

 

...Praise be to the Lord, for he showed me the wonders of his love when I was in a city under siege. In my alarm I said, "I am cut off from your sight!" Yet you heard my cry for mercy when I called to you for help. Love the Lord, all his faithful people!  The Lord preserves those who are true to him, but the proud he pays back in full. Be strong and take heart, all you who hope in the Lord.

  

Verse 23 says: "Love the Lord, all his faithful people!" God has once again called us to love Him. When Jesus interpreted this commandment, He didn't say that the greatest command is the "serve the Lord with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength;" instead, He asked us to "love the Lord your God with all your heart, all your soul, all your mind and all your strength." When we hear about loving the Lord, we often don't really know what it means. We might relate it to things like attending worship service weekly, tithing, participating in all kinds of ministry, etc. Is "loving the Lord" just these outward activities? Actually, loving the Lord is not shown on the outside, but rather from inside our soul. We must love the Lord our God with our heart and soul. That's why Jesus Christ said: "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and all your soul and all your mind and all your strength."

 

What is loving God with all our heart? It's to always think about how to please God. When we come before God, we often want God to satisfy us, "Lord, please give me this and that, and please make way for me in hardship." If God doesn't answer us, we'd get mad at Him. Actually, when we come before God, we shouldn't seek our own pleasure, but we ought to seek to please God.

 

Not only with our heart, but we should also love God with all our soul, which means we ought to love God with our feeling, and we want to express to the Lord how much we love Him. Chinese people often conceal feeling of love inside and never express it, but we really ought to express our love to God, and often say that God "Lord, I love you!"

 

Not only with our heart and soul, but we should also love God with all our mind, which is our rationality. A person's love for God will not surpass His knowledge of God; therefore, we must learn more about God so that we can love Him more. Finally, we must love God with all our strength, use our time, money, energy and everything else that God has given us to repay Him. Let us spend all our life to love Him, serve Him and follow Him!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, may you teach us and let us understand how to love you, so that we know how to love you with all our heart, all our soul, all our mind and all our strength. Let us learn how to please you in our daily life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!  

           
         
This email was sent to devotion1.9844691946@blogger.com by edevotion@rolcc.net |  
River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Monday, October 28, 2013

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 31:9-16

 

Be merciful to me, Lord, for I am in distress; my eyes grow weak with sorrow, my soul and body with grief. My life is consumed by anguish and my years by groaning; my strength fails because of my affliction, and my bones grow weak. ...But I trust in you, Lord; I say, "You are my God." My times are in your hands; deliver me from the hands of my enemies, from those who pursue me. Let your face shine on your servant; save me in your unfailing love.

  

When we are in the midst of all kinds of weakness, attacks by the enemy and difficult circumstances, we must learn from what David said in verse 14: "But I trust in you, Lord; I say, 'You are my God.'" Even though the circumstances are tough and God hasn't opened the way yet, even though we're abandoned by family and friends and we don't even understand why we're in such adversity, even though we are filled with all kinds of hesitation and bitterness, we still need to choose to say: "God, I will still trust in you!" Even though fig trees don't blossom and there are no cows in bullpen and sheep in sheepfold, we still need to choose: "God, you are still my God and I will trust in you!"

 

As soon as you come before God with such faith, no circumstance can overcome you, but such faith will carry you through to overcome your circumstance, because no enemy can overcome you! In Christ you need to proclaim victory against the enemy. If God is with us, who can be against us? Enemies can only intimidate us and scare us with what's in front of you; they, however, cannot take away God's presence from us. As soon as we understand this truth, we will be able to proclaim victory against the enemy each and every day!

 

Not only that, verse 15 says that my times are in God's hands. Brothers and sisters, did you know that God is your shepherd? From birth and death, your whole life is in God's hand. He already knows everything, and He has already prepared everything for you. Once again turn back to God by faith; don't be anxious or afraid, because you know for sure that God is with you!

     

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, no matter what the circumstance is, we still want to choose to say: "Lord, we depend on your, you are still our God!" May your Spirit inspire us; let us proclaim victory against the enemies and rebuke all the attacks from them. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

           
         
This email was sent to devotion1.9844691946@blogger.com by edevotion@rolcc.net |  
River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Sunday, October 27, 2013

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 31:1-8

  

...Be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress to save me. Since you are my rock and my fortress, for the sake of your name lead and guide me. Free me from the trap that is set for me, for you are my refuge. Into your hands I commit my spirit; redeem me, O LORD, the God of truth. I hate those who cling to worthless idols; I trust in the LORD. I will be glad and rejoice in your love, for you saw my affliction and knew the anguish of my soul. You have not handed me over to the enemy but have set my feet in a spacious place.

 

Verse 5 says, "O LORD, the God of truth." Truth means that one does what he says. 2 Corinthian 1:20 says, "For no matter how many promises God has made, they are "Yes" in Christ. And so through him the "Amen" is spoken by us to the glory of God." Yes, amen, truthful. Brothers and sisters, how much do you know God's promises? Someone says that there are more than three thousand God's promises. Someone says that there are more than five thousands. No matter how many there are, what's more important, is how many have you experienced?

 

A pastor once made this testimony: every time when he saw a promise of God in the Bible, he would mark next to the verse a red T, representing Test, i.e. to test. After he experienced and found that a God's promise is real, he would make another mark next to the verse, a blue T for True, denoting that the promise is true. Soon, he found that his Bible is filled with red and blue Ts. Our God is a truthful God, an honest God, He fulfill his promises.

 

We need to lean on God again, especially when we are in agony, when we are experiencing thunderstorm of our lifetime. We need to say it again, "God is our rock." Verse three says, "be my rock of refuge, a strong fortress." Whether it is a rock, a fortress, they all represent some place we can lean on, somewhere we can hide in, and something we can stand upon, not being intimidated by enemy Satan. May God make us understand so as to build our belief and lives firmly on the promises and word of God because He is truthful. When we are going through thunderstorm in our life, we have to grasp onto God's word and proclaim to enemy, "In Christ, we have been victorious!" When we grasp onto God's word, His word become our rock and fortress. Our enemy cannot attack us. May God help us, let us be reassured that God is happy to help us. His word is truthful and dependable! Let us leaning on Him to have a victorious life every day!

             

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, we thank you because you are truthful and dependable. Let us lean on your everyday in our lives. In our anguish we looked up you. And you saved us. You lead us masterfully with your own hand. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!    

      
         
This email was sent to devotion1.9844691946@blogger.com by edevotion@rolcc.net |  
River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054

Saturday, October 26, 2013

Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 30:6-12

 

... To you, O LORD, I called; to the Lord I cried for mercy: "What gain is there in my destruction, in my going down into the pit? Will the dust praise you? Will it proclaim your faithfulness? Hear, O LORD, and be merciful to me; O LORD, be my help." You turned my wailing into dancing; you removed my sackcloth and clothed me with joy, that my heart may sing to you and not be silent. O LORD my God, I will give you thanks forever.

 

Brothers and sisters, do you know that God can turn our weeping and grief into dancing? Not only can he turn weeping into happiness, he can turn weeping into dance. Hallelujah! Not matter your circumstance, God can turn our lives around. He can wipe away our tear forever, turning weeping into dances! God will fulfill us Himself. He will also be our wisdom and power, satisfying all our needs! He is indeed an abundant savior.

 

As told in the story of the prodigal son, when the prodigal son decided to return to his father's house, he indeed left the hog pen. He started walking back to his father's home. Do you know how long that path is? What I refer to is not the distance of the path, but internal spiritual struggles. I remember when I was young, I had an exam. I had red X marks all over the exam sheet. That day, I took the scorecard home. The distance from home to school was no more than ten minutes. But that day, that path took extremely long. It took me more than two hours to get home. I kept thinking, "After seeing my bad scorecard, will my mom and dad punish me?" I was full of fear. I walked the path back and forth for many times.

 

I believe that the prodigal son had fear inside of him as well. He didn't know how his father will treat him. That path he must have walked back and forth many times, struggling mightily in his heart and spirit. But when he finally came near his home, his father saw him from afar. The father ran to him, hugged his son with both of his arms, and kissed his son repeatedly. The Bible says that the father asked servants to slaughter the best cow and sheep. He put the ring back on the his son's finger. He also put beautiful garment on the prodigal son. I think the prodigal son must have thought, "Had I known these, I'd have come back early!" God can turn our life's weeping, fear into joy and dance. Hallelujah! Brothers and sisters, if you believe that God has prepared grace and miracles for you, come to pray to Him now!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, we thank you, for you have prepared a bountiful feast for us, more than what we have asked. May God let us not be controlled by fear. Let us happily lean on you, enjoy the happiness of kingdom of God.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!      

      
         
This email was sent to devotion1.9844691946@blogger.com by edevotion@rolcc.net |  
River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054