Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english I Timothy 1: 13-14    I was before a blasphemer, and a persecutor, and injurious: but I obtained mercy, because I did it ignorantly in unbelief. And the grace of our Lord was exceeding abundant with faith and love which is in Christ Jesus.    Paul has provided the most effective testimony here - that is to contrast the past and the present, the same technique used in today's advertisements.  "What was in the past and what is at the present!":  such as  those weight reduction ads, they all show weight contrasts between the past and present; same is true to those hair growth ads - hair before and after the applications.  Wow! People are all amazed and wanted to buy these terrific products.   In giving this testimony, Paul reminded us that he was a blasphemer, a persecutor, and injurious before, but now he has received mercy.  In fact Paul did not have to say much, by just presenting himself,  is a testimony in itself because he was a persecutor of Christians in the past, but now he had reversed his role and became a witness for Christ - this is such a drastic transformation!  Similarly, when Lazarus was resurrected by Jesus, Lazarus did not have to say anything but by just seating there and having a meal was a testimony in itself. Therefore, brothers and sisters, do not feel that you are not eloquent and not trained for spreading the gospel because the spreading  of gospel relies  on none of  these but the transformation of our lives.    Paul then indicated not only had he received this mercy and salvation, he had also received God's grace in abundance which gave him the faith and love in his ministry.  Do you know that faith and love are also God's grace? We often think of these attributes as being our own! When we are praised because of our love, we feel we are not bad after all!  In reality, if it is not because of God's grace, we can neither exhibit love towards God nor to other people!   For this reason, Paul stated in Ephesians 2, "For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith--and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast."   Do you truly believe that whatever you have are blessings from God? If these are blessings, on one can boast except to bear testimonies for our Lord as these are all God's work.  Just image, to whom can you bear testimony? Your family?  You colleagues at work ?  Or your friends around you ?  May the Lord give you this opportunity and a heart of humility so that you  may proclaim the grace of God!            Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you as we are not worthy to receive you mercy. May the Lord help us understand that these are the blessings from you so that we may bear witness for you.  May this faith and love be manifested in our lives.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english I Timothy 1:12   I thank Christ Jesus our Lord, who has given me strength, that he considered me trustworthy, appointing me to his service...   In times of weakness and anxiety, you may lift up your eyes to the mountains asking, "Where does my help come from?", God is your help and strength.  This strength may be physical or spiritual.  Our bodies and spirits are inter-related: poor heath affects your mood; poor mood affects your spirit to a point of severing your relationship with God. Once you are separated from God, illness and the power of darkness could come upon you and this is like a vicious cycle one thing happening after another. To overcome this vicious cycle, you need to work on breaking it at a certain point;  praising the Lord from our hearts is the easiest way to break this cycle like in Psalm 18:3, "I called to the Lord, who is worthy of praise, and I have been saved from my enemies."  Once you start praying and singing praises, you will experience changes as "God's strength becomes my strength"!   Paul then continued, "One who serves the Lord has to be trustworthy."  This is a fundamental requirement demanded by God. No matter how talented or how experienced one may be, if he is not trustworthy in the smallest deed entrusted to him, then greater deeds would not be given.  There is a saying, "small deeds although small, but if exercised with faithfulness it becomes a big deed."  Are you a faithful person?  Paul once taught Timothy to "entrust to those who are faithful to be teachers" It is apparent that to be faithful is of paramount importance.  Even Paul had repeatedly emphasized on the importance of being faithful; should we also follow?   Finally, God is also sending us out today. He is sending us out to minister for Him to be His glorious testimonies in our living environment. May the Lord grant us a heart of meekness not relying on our own strength, but on God who has given us this faith so that we may glorify Him and help others. Are you faithful to God? Are you faithful to others? May God help us repent and become a vessel in tune with His desires!                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you for you are the One who has given us strength.  Even though there are burdens in our daily lives, you have provided us strength to overcome them. May we serve you faithfully in all the work you have entrusted us.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 Timothy 1: 8-11    "We know that the law is good if one uses it properly. We also know that the law is made not for the righteous but for lawbreakers and rebels, the ungodly and sinful, the unholy and irreligious, for those who kill their fathers or mothers, for murderers, for the sexually immoral, for those practicing homosexuality, for slave traders and liars and perjurers-and for whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine......"                  Paul said the law is just like a mirror with the purpose of letting people become conscious of their sins. Before we don't know about the filth, only after seeing the person in the mirror then we become conscious of our sins. Paul listed fourteen types of sin in groups of two; we have to examine ourselves after reading these offenses to see if we have sinned against God on these things.     1.       The lawbreakers and rebels: Law-breaking is disobedience, one who disobeys God's laws would not actively follow them, and it gives the devil opportunities to tempt him and lead him astray the path of God. The root of law-breaking is from our rebellious hearts.     2.       The ungodly and sinful: The godly person has God-fearing heart. A God-fearing person will follow God's words; a person that is not God-fearing will fear about the authority of this world, and follow the path of the world. What are your fears? One should fear the Lord, because He is the beginning of wisdom.    3.       The unholy and irreligious: The unholy may not necessarily commit murder or arson, irreligious is unholy. People like to have it both ways. It may be all right if they are in the same directions, otherwise that would pull them apart. The same goes to the unholy and irreligious; it's easy to stumble if the word of God is not in their hearts.    4.       Those who kill their fathers or mother and the murderers: Both are very serious crimes, sometimes the result of built-up resentment that often leads to violent behaviors. What a shame that the most beloved fathers and mothers can become enemies.   5.       The sexually immoral and those practicing homosexuality: Some people say the word "homosexuality" is not in the Bible; therefore God does not condemn this matter as sin. In fact the Bible uses different wordings in ancient times to highlight these types of sin; both sexual immorality and homosexuality are abomination of God.   6.        The slave traders and liars and perjurers: The Bible clearly rebukes all types of lying, it also says in Revelation 21:8, all those liars will be consigned to the fiery lake of burning sulfur! Finally, whatever else is contrary to the sound doctrine. Are you also in the bondage of sin? The law can help us become conscious of sin, but only the blood of the Lord has cleansing and healing power; come to receive the grace of the blood today!         Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, may your light shine upon us, let us see our many transgressions. When we seek you, confess our sins, your blood will cleanse and wipe us, because in Christ there is grace of sin forgiven! We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1Timothy 1: 6-7    "Some have departed from these and have turned to meaningless talk. They want to be teachers of the law, but they do not know what they are talking about or what they so confidently affirm."                  Paul said "some have departed from these", "these" refer to "love" mentioned in verse five. Many people preached the doctrines at the church, even talked about love, but there was no love among them, the words were all about laws binding people. So Paul said in 1Cornithians, "If I speak in the tonguesof men or of angels, but do not have love, I am only a resounding gong or a clanging cymbal. If I have the gift of prophecy and can fathom all mysteries and all knowledge, and if I have a faith that can move mountains, but do not have love, I am nothing. If I give all I possess to the poor and give over my body to the flames,but do not have love, I gain nothing." Over-emphasizing knowledge will make people arrogant; over-emphasizing words will lead people to spiritual death.                  Only the love in the Spirit lets the life of Christ gush in our hearts, this love comes from three aspects: First, coming from a pure heart. True love is pure, not dirty, and not harming others. Many people talk about love, the purpose is not to help others, but to rule over and control others. Second, coming from a good conscience. In other words, true love is unselfish; many people talk about love only to satisfy own self. Like someone said "I love watermelon", in fact he took the watermelon, cut it open and ate the flesh, spit out the seeds and threw the rind in the garbage. Did he really love watermelon? He only loved himself! Many people got hurt in love, because the hearts were filled with selfish love.                 Third, coming from an earnest faith. True love comes from God, only when we turn our eyes upon God, confessing our failings, enjoying the love of God, the lives can then be touched by the love of God. What kind of love are you preaching? Is your love pure, good and earnest? Ask God to check, and ask the love of God to fill our hearts again!         Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, you are the beginning of love. So often people's love for their own, may you pour out this pure, good and earnest love into our hearts, let our neighbors enjoy this pleasing love through us. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1Timothy 1:5    "The goal of this command is love, which comes from a pure heart and a good conscience and a sincere faith."                  The goal of this command is love. A teacher of the law once asked, "Of all the commandments, which is the most important?" The Lord said, "Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your mind and with all your strength; the second is this, love your neighbor as yourself."                  First, with all your heart, is to put in effort and attention, to bring pleasure to the other person. People in love are very caring, the other party loves flowers and they will be delivered daily; one will wreck the brain to come up with some stanzas if the other party is in love of poetry. Love needs the effort to nourish, similarly, love the Lord with all your heart is striving to come before God, to gain his pleasure; we'll do what God desires.                  Second, with all your soul, is to put in emotions. Like a pair of lovers, if one meets something exciting, the other will naturally dance with joy; if one meets something sad, the other is bound with a heavy heart. Similarly, we share our sadness and joy with God.                  Third, with all your mind, means to use our thoughts. True love is not blind, we have to try our best to know God, read His words, let His words fill our thoughts, and inevitably we'll walk in truth.                  Fourth, with all your strength, means to love God with all we have, including our time, money, talent and physical strength. Since all things come from God, we should try our best to serve Him, it's no longer "my" time, "my" money, rather it's "God's" time and money.                  The second is to love your neighbor as yourself; God's will is not limited to us loving only Him. If we love God, we also must love those people who He loves; we need to love reading the bible, love prayers, we also need to love brothers and sisters. The most powerful testimony of the church is neither about the talk, nor the outward buildings, rather it's the testimony of love. When people see we love one another, naturally they will be drawn before the Lord.                  Genuine care sometimes does not need to spend a lot of money and time; one simple card can bring encouragement to others, a brief visit can bring comfort. When you see someone in need, go visit them; do not worry about making conversations, caring needs no big words. When you walk into a family, share the needs with each other, pray together and bless them, this is the best caring in action. Sometimes private intercession is also important, pray and bless in faith, trust the Spirit must work!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, this is your commandment, that we first love you, and then love the neighbor. May your love fill us, let us love you with all our heart and with all our soul and with all our mind and with all our strength

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