Today's Passage - 1 Corinthians 1:18-21

1 Corinthians 1:18-21   For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God. For it is written: "I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate." Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world? For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe.   The Word of God often blows away our imagination.  From a human point of view, the message of the cross is foolishness.  However, it reveals the infinite wisdom of God. I once talked to the principle of a Muslim school regarding the Gospel of Christ. Muslim find it very difficult to understand why the Almighty God would humble Himself, to come to this world, and even to die on the cross? For them, an Almighty God cannot die.  God must be strong and only an all-powerful God can represent a true God.  They find it difficult to understand that God would humble Himself to come to the world. I have heard many people ask this question: If God loves us, why can't He just wave His hand at us from Heaven and tell us , "People of the world, I love you!".  Then we can all look back at God and say, "We know you love us!"  Won't that be very simple?  Why would Jesus need to be born into this world, suffer and die on the Cross for us, and then be raised from the dead?   From one point of view, I do not know why God would go through so much trouble, but I do know one thing: Through this process, I know how much God loves us. Mother Theresa served many leprosy patients in India and there are many people who visit her.  Once, a reporter seeing her serve the leprosy patients, was puzzled, and said to her, "Even if you give me a million dollars, I will not do this." Mother Theresa look at this reporter and said," You know what? Even if you give me a million dollars, I will not do this."  Will God do this for money?  Of course not, it is because of love.    God sympathizes with our weaknesses. When Jesus was on earth, He recognized our needs. He experienced the same sufferings, and He understands the hardship that we endure in our hearts. As such, He can take all of our hardship, all the pain we bear on our behalf. The Bible says: The punishment that brought us peace was upon him, and by his wounds we are healed. In the eyes of man, this may sound foolish, but this is the power of God.  People may feel the need to debate this truth, but this is a simple truth to whosoever believes.  Even to the unlearned people, as long as you believe, God's grace will come to you.  This is the great wisdom of God! Let us offer our thanks to Him!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you once again, because you have made foolish the wisdom of this world, and accomplished your great salvation. All those who believe and trust in you, will enjoy your precious grace.  This is such great wisdom.  Let us have thankful hearts to live by faith each day, to keep our eyes on you., trusting that you will provide all of our needs. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!          See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!

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Today's Passage - 1 Corinthians 1:10-17

1 Corinthians 1:10-17   I appeal to you, brothers, in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ, that all of you agree with one another so that there may be no divisions among you and that you may be perfectly united in mind and thought. My brothers, some from Chloe's household have informed me that there are quarrels among you. What I mean is this: One of you says, "I follow Paul"; another, "I follow Apollos"; another, "I follow Cephas"; still another, "I follow Christ."  Is Christ divided? Was Paul crucified for you? Were you baptized into the name of Paul? I am thankful that I did not baptize any of you... For Christ did not send me to baptize, but to preach the gospel-not with words of human wisdom, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.   In this passage, we see a dispute in the Corinthian church that came about due to differences in individual preferences and beliefs. This created different groups. Paul belonged to the Spirit-led group, while Apollos belonged to the Scripture-based group, while Peter was the evangelist.  Within the church, there may be different types of people who have received a different calling from God, and there are people who follow different leaders.  Indeed, there are the rationale thinkers, the Spirit-filled people, the people who wait quietly upon the Lord, people who love praise and worship, and those who focus on signs and wonders of God.  There are all kinds of people in the church, and because of the different personalities and needs, they follow different leaders or pastors, hence causing division in the church.   May God have mercy on us.  He gives us different calling and different gifts, not for us to quarrel, but for us to operate as one body of Christ.  In Christ, we can complement and help one another.  Unfortunately in the church, we often despise those who have different gifts from us.  We think that our gift is more important than others.  Whether it is the evangelist, or the prayer warrior, the praise and worship leader or the Sunday school teacher, each one thinks that their gift is better than the others', and we look down on others' gifts.  As a result, there is no unity in the church.    Paul says in this passage, "Is Christ divided?" Each one of us is a part of Christ.  We should be united, and not fight each other, lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  Because Christ died for you and I, He has redeemed us from all places to become part of His body.  If we are divided, it empties the cross of Christ of its power. Pray that God will help us to maintain complete unity within the church.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we ask that you forgive us for fighting with others because we have different individual beliefs.  We know that this breaks your heart.  We ask for your mercy, and help us to truly understand your word, to maintain what the unity within the church lest the cross of Christ be emptied of its power.  We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!         See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!

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Today's Passage - 1 Corinthians 1:4-9

1 Corinthians 1:4-9   I always thank God for you because of his grace given you in Christ Jesus. For in him you have been enriched in every way-in all your speaking and in all your knowledge- because our testimony about Christ was confirmed in you. Therefore you do not lack any spiritual gift as you eagerly wait for our Lord Jesus Christ to be revealed. He will keep you strong to the end, so that you will be blameless on the day of our Lord Jesus Christ. God, who has called you into fellowship with his Son Jesus Christ our Lord, is faithful.   God is a God who bestows us with all kinds of grace.  This so-called grace is something that brings us help in our greatest time of need. In the Old Testament time, when Deborah was a judge, the Israelites were attacked by King Hazor.  King Hazor had a large number of iron chariots, while the Israelites were foot soldiers. It is quite impossible for foot soldiers to fight iron chariots.  Just when the Israelites were extremely tired, God brought about a huge rainstorm, causing the ground to become muddy, and all the chariots were stuck in the mud.  As a result, the Israelites won a battle.  I love this story that is described in Psalm 68:10.   God says that His grace is prepared for those who are in hardship.  Are you experiencing hardships in your life circumstances now?  Do you know that God's grace is prepared for you? Just like the Israelites when they were stuck in their predicament facing the enemy's chariots and their hearts were weary, our hearts are weary at times when we face challenging situations in our life.  It is at this time when God's grace will become our help.  We need to come before God again and depend on Him.  God wants us to experience abundance.  He knows what we need.  Psalm 23:1 says,  the Lord is our shepherd, we shall not lack. Because He is our Shepherd, He knows our needs, and can supply what we need. God's provision is never early or late.  It comes at the perfect time, and we are enriched in every way.    In addition, God also gives us all kinds of spiritual gifts.  He is a merciful and kind God, and He has chosen us to work with Him. Have you ever thought about what a privilege this is? We are fellow workers with God. He gives us gifts so that we can serve others.  His grace flows to others through us, we are His vessel.  Today, you will not only receive God's grace, but God will also use you to let His grace flow to the people around you.  Praise God, although there is trouble in this world, and there are attacks from the enemy, God is the one who strengthens us.  He will watch over us and protect us until He returns.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you because of the abundant grace you have prepared for us.  We open our lives up before you to receive your grace.  May you strengthen our faith so that we may follow you all the days of our lives.  We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!         See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!

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Today's Passage - 1 Corinthians 1:1-3

1 Corinthians 1:1-3   Paul, called to be an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and our brother Sosthenes, to the church of God in Corinth, to those sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy, together with all those everywhere who call on the name of our Lord Jesus Christ - their Lord and ours: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.   In this passage, Paul specifically pointed out that as believers we are "sanctified in Christ Jesus and called to be holy."  The word "sanctified" means "set apart" in the original text, which means we follow different standards from the world.  As Christians we are not automatically perfect, but we have been set apart by God to take on a different path, for God has chosen us to depart from the way of the world, but to take on the path of God.  You must understand that salvation takes place in an instant, but sanctification takes a life-time.  Salvation signifies a turn in direction - From way of the world to way of the God - and it represents walking forward until reaching the destination.  Turning towards a new direction doesn't mean that the destination has been reached; similarly, when someone has been saved, it doesn't mean that the person has become completely holy like God.   Salvation merely means one has turned from the way of the world to way of God.  When we are on the way of God, we are following a process of sanctification; even though we haven't reached the destination yet, God has already set us apart so that we would be led by His spirit to reach the destination.  As Christians, you and I must follow the Lord and let the hands of God lead us and discipline us, so that His will may be satisfied in our lives.  Therefore, after we become Christians, we must bring everything before the Lord, because we need to let Jesus Christ be our master by surrendering our lives before Him, and let God mold us till we take on the form of Jesus Christ.   Everyone is on a unique path in spiritual growth.  Paul said here that Christ is their Lord and also our Lord.  Not only is He molding us, He's also molding others around us.  Therefore, we must tolerate and accept each other instead of criticizing and judging, because God is doing different things in our lives and Christ is the Lord of all of us.  While we are growing, we often give ourselves lots of excuses, but don't provide space for others to grow.  Christ is actually working in each of us, so let us give each other plenty of space to grow until we become more like Jesus Christ.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you because you are our Lord and you are the Lord of all Christians.  Let us accept and learn from one another until we are completely like you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!         See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!

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Today's Passage - 3 John 11-15

3 John 11-15   Dear friend, do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God. Anyone who does what is evil has not seen God. Demetrius is well spoken of by everyone-and even by the truth itself. We also speak well of him, and you know that our testimony is true. I have much to write you, but I do not want to do so with pen and ink. I hope to see you soon, and we will talk face to face. Peace to you. The friends here send their greetings. Greet the friends there by name. John taught us one thing specifically: "Do not imitate what is evil but what is good. Anyone who does what is good is from God." Doing what is good is not doing good deeds. According to the Bible, what is good means doing what God commands you to do. Matthew 5:44 says: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you." Every time I read this passage, I would thank God for it. He didn't stop at "love your enemies". It tells us clearly that what He wants us to do is to pray for those who persecute us and bless them. Why? Because when Satan attacks us, the first step he would take is to create an environment to make us feel upset, sad and resentful, just like Job who lost everything overnight, or Jesus who was hungry after forty days of temptation. Let me remind you that the reason why Satan can disturb us or control us is that there is always some kind of hidden anger inside us. The biggest stronghold Satan has inside the church is the hidden anger in our heart. Because of that, Satan has his space to work in our relationships with God, others and ourselves. In his second step, Satan will jump into the circumstances to cheat and accuse. Many times when we are in the middle of the spiritual battle, we are just aware of Satan's second step. So we always just rebuke his lies and accusations. However, we would overlook his first step, so that it is already too late when we realize that we have to rebuke his work. How do we overcome Satan's first step? Just learn to turn the curse around and pray for those who persecute us, when Satan creates some circumstances that make us upset. Bless them, which means blessing in the name of the Lord all the circumstances that Satan creates and all the people that Satan uses, for once we start to bless, Satan will be at a loss for what to do next. The angrier you are, the happier Satan will be. Then he will start his second step and check mate. But once you start to bless your enemy, he will be at a loss for what to do. We all need to confess before God, turn the curse around and pray for our enemies, the joy of the Spirit will start to flow in our heart due to our obedience.              Pray with Pastor Tong Liu   Lord, we thank you and we praise you. May you take away any hidden anger we still have in our heart, so that we can bless our enemies and let your love flow from our life. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!         See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!

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Today's Passage - 3 John 7-10

3 John 7-10   It was for the sake of the Name that they went out, receiving no help from the pagans. We ought therefore to show hospitality to such people so that we may work together for the truth. I wrote to the church, but Diotrephes, who loves to be first, will not welcome us. So when I come, I will call attention to what he is doing, spreading malicious nonsense about us. Not satisfied with that, he even refuses to welcome other believers. He also stops those who want to do so and puts them out of the church.   According to John, we should welcome brothers and sisters in Christ, especially the preachers, for they have offered themselves to the Lord and we should provide for all their needs in Christ. Actually the first thing Jesus did to others in His ministry was to welcome them. When the Lord was among the needy, he didn't just starting with his message about heaven, hell and repentance. What He did first was to welcome them, just like how he welcomed Zacchaeus in the New Testament. According to the Bible, Zacchaeus was very short. He was also a tax collector, an IRS official in that generation, not so popular with others. One day he heard that Jesus was going to pass through Jericho, and he wanted to see Jesus. But there was a big crowd there. He tried to squeeze in, but others saw him and blocked him. So he had to climb onto a sycamore tree to watch. To his surprise, Jesus passed under the sycamore tree. He looked up and saw Zacchaeus. He then said: "Zacchaeus, come down quickly!" If you were Zacchaeus, how would you react? I am afraid you would be trembling with fear. At this time people around were very happy, amazed that this prophet just called the great sinner down. They were expecting something great to happen. But the first thing Jesus said to Zacchaeus was to their surprise. Jesus didn't say: "Repent!" Instead, he said: "Zacchaeus, I am going to stay at your house tonight. Nobody would go stay at Zacchaeus' house.   According to the Bible, nobody wanted to be friends with tax collectors and sinners. But when Jesus said: "I am going to stay at your house tonight", he meant that he had completely accepted Zacchaeus.  When Zacchaeus experienced the Lord's love of acceptance, he immediately repented by giving up half of his possession to the poor and repaying four times what he had taken from others. When Jesus worked on people, he always started with welcome. But the church today is doing the opposite. Instead of welcoming people, it judges, just like Diotrephes who not only refused to welcome John, but also stopped those who wanted to do so and put them out of the church. John said in verse 11 that people like Diotrephes not only don't know God, but also haven't seen God. The Lord has already welcomed us like this. Shouldn't we also welcome one another?          Pray with Pastor Tong Liu   Lord, we thank you, for you welcomed us first. May you put such love in our heart, so that we can welcome one another among brothers and sisters. When others see the testimony that we welcome one another, they will return to You. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!         See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!

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Today's Passage - 3 John 4-6

3 John 4-6   I have no greater joy than to hear that my children are walking in the truth. Dear friend, you are faithful in what you are doing for the brothers and sisters, even though they are strangers to you. They have told the church about your love. Please send them on their way in a manner that honors God.   John mentioned here that brothers and sisters should support each other with love, which actually is a most precious property in our faith. Christians shouldn't just take good care of themselves. The Lord already set for us a good example of supporting one another. He also wants us to support each other. When the Lord was living on earth, He turned water into wine in the wedding at Cana and fed five thousand men with five loaves and two fish. He also fed four thousand men with seven loaves. He even sacrificed His own life so that we can get new one. 2 Corinthians 8:9 says: "For you know the grace of our Lord Jesus Christ, that though he was rich, yet for your sake he became poor, so that you through his poverty might become rich." Since we already received the grace of the Lord, we should also follow his example and support one another.   The early churches also set the example of supporting one another. The church in Jerusalem was enjoying the spiritual wealth, so they sent out workers to preach gospel to the Gentiles. Later on there was a famine in Jerusalem, other churches also made offerings to help with the crisis of the church in Jerusalem. This set the example of supporting one another in Christ. John mentioned here how the church supported strange brothers and sisters. We should also pray for the Spirit to lead us. Every time we pray, we ask God to show us the needs of the brothers and sisters around us. When you feel the Spirit is leading you, or you have special burden for someone, just start interceding. On the other hand, you should also ask for the Spirit to help you find out how to support those brothers and sisters. The Lord not only knows about everyone's need, but also knows how to help him and through whom to help him. When the Spirit is leading us, may the Lord give us a heart of obedience to follow Jesus Christ's example and support one another, so all the needy can get help and support.   Pray with Pastor Tong Liu   Lord, we thank you, for you have set the best example for us. Give us a sensitive heart to be really aware of the needs of the brothers and sisters. Also give us an obedient and joyful spirit, so that we can help others with the love of Christ. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!         See Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - on Facebook!

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