Daily Devotion

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 2 Timothy 2: 22-23   Flee also youthful lusts; but pursue righteousness, faith, love, peace with those who call on the Lord out of a pure heart.   But avoid foolish and ignorant disputes, knowing that they generate strife.    Paul suggested two ways to sanctification: first is to passively avoid sinful deeds.  Youthful lusts refer not only to the lust of the flesh, but also to the bitterness, fighting, jealousy and pride.  Paul wanted us to avoid them altogether without feeling self -assured else we would fall into the traps of these sins.  We need to stay away from the sinful places so that these thoughts would not take root in our minds.   Looking back at the church history,   every time there was a spiritual revival, they were all preceded with deep repentances of sins many of which may not be those unspeakable ones, but a little bit of filth under spiritual illumination would totally take our peace away.  During the spiritual revival of 1971 in Canada, many called shop owners confessing their past shop-lifting ; while some other had told lies and thought nothing of them, but now they had repented because of the reproach by the Holy Spirit.   When we recognize we are openly naked and nowhere to hide in front of this holy and righteous God, we would realize that our thoughts, no matter how small they may be, cannot evade His attention.  We should, therefore, prostrate before Him, confess our sins, put away our pride and non-belief, asking for His blood of forgiveness.  We should first learn to mourn over our sins, only then can we experience the joy of healing.  An apostle once said, "A person must learn to hate himself first, before he can truly serve God."   Second, Paul also suggested that we should actively pursue with those pure in hearts praying together for righteousness, faithfulness, kindness, and peace.  You should also look for such spiritual friends as prayer partners because the Lord says, "Blessed are those pure in hearts, for they will see God." As we spend time praying together, turning our eyes from this world onto God, we would come to know God and understand His will more.  God will also work in our hearts so that we would become more like Him.  May the Lord help us finding our spiritual partners who can pray together with us in our daily lives so that we may be transformed through the help of His spirit in prayers.                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you for your words come with the power of cleansing.  Examine our hearts so that we are kept away from the lusts of the youth.  Help us find our spiritual partner so that we may seek Your face together. With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Forward email This email was sent to devotion1.89u5hjfejfdsa@blogger.com by edevotion@rolcc.net |   Update Profile/Email Address | Rapid removal with SafeUnsubscribe™ | Privacy Policy. River of Life Christian Church | 1177 Laurelwood Rd. | Santa Clara | CA | 95054