Today's Passage - Matthew 9:23-26

Matthew 9:23-26   When Jesus entered the synagogue leader's house and saw the noisy crowd and people playing pipes, he said, "Go away. The girl is not dead but asleep." But they laughed at him.  After the crowd had been put outside, he went in and took the girl by the hand, and she got up.  News of this spread through all that region.   When Jesus was performing this miracle, he did something special, which was to ask the crowd to go outside, because they we did not believe.  When the Lord came to this girl's house, He told the crowd that the girl was not dead, but only asleep.  They laughed at Jesus because they didn't believe he could heal her. Therefore, before Jesus performed the miracle, he asked the crowd to go away.    When Jesus performed miracles, it was important for him to be in an environment of faith.  This was not the only miracle where Jesus needed such an environment; back in the home town of Jesus, Nazareth, the Lord also didn't perform many miracles, because the Nazarenes did not believe Him.  When the Lord performed miracles, he always chose an environment of faith, and that's where he would proactively perform healing and deliverance.  As soon as you understand this principle, you would find that when you are performing healing prayer, you can't simply just pray, but you must first prepare an environment of faith.  We must first teach God's word and promises so that people would have genuine faith because of God's word.   That is why when we are conducting healing ministry, we must spend time to worship and pray first to stir up people's faith.  Only when people have faith In God will the Lord's Spirit bring forth the impact of salvation to the lives of people.  When the Lord healed the sick, He often said to them "your faith has saved you," because faith is essential to healing.  One time a patient was brought to our church by his relatives to be prayed for.  When everyone was praying for him, we sensed a strong spirit of rejection inside him, so we couldn't continue to pray.  I really pitied him in my heart because the Lord was willing to help in, but God's grace could not come upon him because disbelief and rejection inside his heart.   When we prayed for healing, we must cultivate an environment of faith, and we must also pray for others by faith.  When the crowd responds to prayer by faith, they will see how God's grace comes upon each person who's sick.  Do you have special needs that you want to bring before God?   Do you have any weakness or diseases?  Let us learn to pray by faith because only in an environment of faith will we experience the mighty power of God.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, please give all of us a genuine faith, especially when we are praying for those in the body of Christ that are sick.  May the Lord's Spirit come upon brothers and sisters who are physically weak.  When we pray to you by faith, you're healing will come upon us, and we will give you all the glory.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!        Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 9:18-22

Matthew 9:18-22   While he was saying this, a synagogue leader came and knelt before him and said, "My daughter has just died. But come and put your hand on her, and she will live."  Jesus got up and went with him, and so did his disciples.  Just then a woman who had been subject to bleeding for twelve years came up behind him and touched the edge of his cloak.  She said to herself, "If I only touch his cloak, I will be healed."  Jesus turned and saw her. "Take heart, daughter," he said, "your faith has healed you." And the woman was healed at that moment.   This woman came before God with a strong desire to seek healing.  She has been bleeding for twelve years; she spent all she had but the disease was not cured.  Not only was she in physical pain, her soul was also severely tortured.  Back then, women who had bleeding disease was considered unclean and they could not have normal relationships with people, so she was considered an outcast of the society.  When the woman went before Jesus, she was extremely eager to receive healing from the Lord.  When you and I come before God to plead, do we have an attitude of eagerness?  How do we have such an attitude?   First, we must bring all things before Lord in prayer.  Many Christians have a wrong concept: God is busy and probably doesn't have time to take care of little trivial businesses of ours, so let's not bother Him.  The Bible, however, teaches us that we don't receive because we don't ask.  Some people say that the Bible teaches us that God always knows what we need before we even ask, so why do we even bother asking?  It is true that God already knows everyone's needs, but His blessings always come to those who are humble and eager, which is shown by asking God in prayer.   Second, not only should we pray to the Lord, we also need to pray more specifically.  Many went to the Lord and prayed, but in very vague terms.  The Bible has more than five thousand types of blessings that were promised for us, so when you pray to the Lord for blessings the Lord will ask, "what kind of blessings do you want from me?"  Not only should we pray, we also need to pray in very specific and clear before the Lord, otherwise how can we even be sure that God has answered our prayer?   Third, we must pray with an earnest heart.  Some people have prayed, but in a rather casual attitude.  Some other prayed, but don't even remember what they prayed for.  If we have an casual attitude towards praying to God, how can we expect God to answer our prayer?   Let us bring our needs before God, and let us have expectations for Him and look upon Him.  When this woman went before Jesus to plead for healing, Jesus said "your faith has healed you."  May God help us, let us receive His grace by faith!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we want to pray specifically for those of us who are sick.  May you lay hand on them and give them sufficient faith to pray to you.  Lord's grace will come upon them right now!  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!        Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 9:14-17

Matthew 9:14-17   Then John's disciples came and asked him, "How is it that we and the Pharisees fast often, but your disciples do not fast?"  Jesus answered, "How can the guests of the bridegroom mourn while he is with them? The time will come when the bridegroom will be taken from them; then they will fast.  "No one sews a patch of unshrunk cloth on an old garment, for the patch will pull away from the garment, making the tear worse.  Neither do people pour new wine into old wineskins. If they do, the skins will burst; the wine will run out and the wineskins will be ruined. No, they pour new wine into new wineskins, and both are preserved."    The Lord taught us that we need hold new wine in a new wineskin, because wine in a wineskin experiences chemical reaction that changes the shape of the wineskin.  The new wineskin is more elastic and it can be molded into any shape, and then gradually harden into a fixed shape.  If we pour new wine into an old wineskin that is no longer flexible and elastic, the new chemical reaction will eventually tear the wineskin apart.  When we accept the life of Jesus Christ, we allow the Lord's life to mold our life into a new shape.  Christians must beware though, don't let the new shape become a formality that binds us, thus becoming an old wineskin.  When the Holy Spirit comes and do new work inside us, we might not be able to handle it.   Christians must see that the Holy Spirit is always the new wine, and therefore we must have a soft heart to keep ourselves as new wineskin all the time.   Some people are new wineskin when they first accept the Lord, but they are not continuously renewed, and their wineskin slowly becomes old.  The Holy Spirit, however, is always new wine that works in new ways.  We must always be prepared in our lives; when the Holy Spirit works in us, we must be willing to be adjusted, because new wine always needs to be in new wineskin.   Is your life an old wineskin or a new wineskin?  The Lord taught us to fast, because, first of all, fasting prayer draws us closer to God.  It allows us to lay down the bondage and burden of the world, make time to listen to God's word.  On the other hand, fasting prayer represents a sacrifice, where we are willing to lay down our prejudice and desires of our flesh.  It lets us come before God alone to seek His will.  Fasting prayer also represents humility; we no longer depend on our own will, but rather to become willing to follow God's will.  In our daily life, we really need to be renewed by the Holy Spirit, so that we can be a new wineskin each and every day.  May the Lord help us, let us welcome work of the Holy Spirit, and let our life become a life of new wineskin.   Pray to Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you because you are always the new wine.  Give us a soft heart and let us be a new wineskin every day, so that we may take on your new work.  May your grace touch all the people around us through our lives.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!        Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 9:1-8

Matthews 9:1-8 Jesus stepped into a boat, crossed over and came to his own town. Some men brought to him a paralytic, lying on a mat. When Jesus saw their faith, he said to the paralytic, "Take heart, son; your sins are forgiven." At this, some of the teachers of the law said to themselves, "This fellow is blaspheming!" Knowing their thoughts, Jesus said, "Why do you entertain evil thoughts in your hearts? Which is easier: to say, 'Your sins are forgiven,' or to say, 'Get up and walk'? But so that you may know that the Son of Man has authority on earth to forgive sins . . ." Then he said to the paralytic, "Get up, take your mat and go home." And the man got up and went home. When the crowd saw this, they were filled with awe; and they praised God, who had given such authority to men. When the Lord healed that paralytic, there was a great debate among Pharisees and teachers of the law, because the Lord didn't say "Your illness is healed."  Instead, The Lord said, "Your sins are forgiven."  It was very puzzling to Pharisees and teachers of the law because only God can forgive one's sin. Was Jesus God? But Jesus asked them whether it was easier to heal one or to forgive one's sin. From people's perspective, neither was easy. But because Jesus was God's son, both were easy. Then Jesus said to the paralytic again, "Take your mat and go home." This time he did not say your sins were forgiven. When Jesus forgave one's sin, that person's illness were healed as well. Both were done at the same time. Our understanding of Jesus is often not complete. When the Lord was on earth, He not only preached the word of God, but also healed sick people.  When the Lord sent disciples out two at a time, He asked them to not only preach the word of God, but also heal sick people. When the Lord gave the great command to church, the Gospel of Matthews says to preach the word of God. The Gospel of Mark says to lay hands on sick people, so that those who were sick can be healed. Throughout Lord's life, He preached both God's word and performed healing. To the Lord, forgiving someone's sins was as important as healing the diseases. To Pharisees, they had no problem with Jesus healing sick people. But they were full of doubt about His authority of forgiving sins. Today, we are the opposite. We don't have problem with Jesus's authority of forgiving sins, but are full of doubts of the Lord's authority of healing.     The Lord will ask us the same question: 'Which is easier, to forgive his sins or to heal his sickness?' From a man's perspective, neither is easy. From the Lord's perspective, nothing is too hard for Him. Let us come to God with a humble heart, allowing him to do His wonderful work on us. Prayer with Pastor Tong Liu, Lord, we thank you and we ask that you lay hands on our brothers and sisters. Forgive our sins once more. Heal our sickness, so that our hearts turn back to you. May we lift your name high in our daily life and give you all the glory. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus Christ, Amen!        Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 8:28-34

Matthew 8:28-34 When he arrived at the other side in the region of the Gadarenes, two demon-possessed men coming from the tombs met him. They were so violent that no one could pass that way.  "What do you want with us, Son of God?" they shouted. "Have you come here to torture us before the appointed time?" Some distance from them a large herd of pigs was feeding. The demons begged Jesus, "If you drive us out, send us into the herd of pigs." He said to them, "Go!" So they came out and went into the pigs, and the whole herd rushed down the steep bank into the lake and died in the water. Those tending the pigs ran off, went into the town and reported all this, including what had happened to the demon-possessed men. Then the whole town went out to meet Jesus. And when they saw him, they pleaded with him to leave their region.    When Jesus was performing miracles on earth, people's reaction to the miracles was not quite what most expected.  One would think that when Jesus released demons from the two people who were possessed and set them free, people should have been happy. However, when the whole town came to meet Jesus, they all wanted Jesus to leave the place as soon as possible. The town's people heard from those who were tending the pigs and were worried.  If Jesus' releasing two demons lead to the death of all those pigs, had He performed more miracles, wouldn't all their roofs have disappeared?  So they begged Jesus to leave immediately, without knowing why Lord did what He did. According to Jewish law at that time, pigs were unclean animals. Jews were forbidden to raise pigs. Those who were raising pigs in those places were against God's will, even against God's laws. That's why when Jesus heard demons' begging to be released into pigs, He didn't hesitated saying, "Go!"  Lord knew that those raising pigs were doing so against God's will.  That's why He allowed this to happen.     But the townspeople desired money more than spiritual salvation and God's will. So much that they wanted Jesus to leave. Can you and I really welcome Jesus' work? We pray that Lord works in our lives. When Lord really starts His work, the first thing He do is to cleanse. All that are unclean will be dealt with by Jesus. They will be removed by Jesus. We can't just ask grace and healing. God will first rid of obstacles and sins in our hearts so that His grace can pour down from His throne and into our lives. May God open our eyes to see that His way is higher than our ways, and His will is higher than our wills. Let our eyes not focused on the limited wealth on earth, but purely on God's will and God's work. Our hearts will then rejoice. Prayer with Pastor Tong Liu Lord, may you examine our hearts to see whether there are things that do not please you.  May God's Spirit shine and cleanse us.  Rid of all darkness, and lead us into your light.  Let us experience your victory day after day.  Prayer in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!         Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 8:23-27

Matthew 8:23-27      Then he got into the boat and his disciples followed him.  Suddenly a furious storm came up on the lake, so that the waves swept over the boat. But Jesus was sleeping.  The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Lord, save us! We're going to drown!" He replied, "You of little faith, why are you so afraid?" Then he got up and rebuked the winds and the waves, and it was completely calm. The men were amazed and asked, "What kind of man is this? Even the winds and the waves obey him!"   In our journey of life, don't we often experience this kind of storm?  Sometimes accidents, diseases or even attacks happen to us.  We easily lose the peace in our hearts when these things shock us.  Just like the disciples who were in the boat with the Lord; when the storm suddenly hit them over the sea, they were shocked and had to wake Jesus.  How come Jesus could sleep in the midst of the storm?  Some people said that Jesus was sleeping on the foundation of God's word.  God's word and His promises are like a pillow; when we place our head on the pillow, we will be able to rest peacefully and move forward with no fear even in the midst of all kinds of storms.  Jesus was filled with God's word, which gives Him peace in His heart.  No matter how furious the storm was, He could rebuke the wind and the waves and made them calm down.   After the Lord ascended to heaven, the same authority has been given to our lives.  We also have the authority to rebuke any storm in our lives.  Unfortunately, we often don't know that we have such authority, and we don't know how precious the word of God is.  This causes all kinds of panic during the storms, and thus we cannot enjoy true peace.  May God help us, let His word become our foundation which we can depend on; when we face all kinds of storms in our life, we will have peace and joy in our hearts because we are standing on the foundation of God's word.  The same word will also flow out from our lives so that we may help others, because every word of God carries so much authority and power that even winds and waves will suddenly become calm.  May God help us to experience the power of His word every day in our life!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you because your word stands firm in the heaven.  When we depend on your word, we can overcome any storm in our life.  May the Holy Spirit of the Lord help us, let God's word be revealed in our hearts to bring forth enormous faith, so that we may overcome our circumstance and experience your mighty power each and every day.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!        Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 8:18-22

Matthew 8:18-22   When Jesus saw the crowd around him, he gave orders to cross to the other side of the lake.  Then a teacher of the law came to him and said, "Teacher, I will follow you wherever you go."  Jesus replied, "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  Another disciple said to him, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father."  But Jesus told him, "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."   Many people want to follow the Lord, just like those who went to the Jesus when He was on earth.  They followed Him no matter where He went.  The response from Jesus, however, seemed rather cold; He reminded everyone who wanted to follow Him to think about the purpose of following Him.  Prior to the time of this passage, Jesus was a great healer who healed many who are sick, and people were envious of such gift of healing.  Also, many wanted to follow Him because they were healed and filled with joy.   They all followed Jesus because they wanted something from Him.  After the Lord performed the miracle of five loaves and two fish, many wanted to make Him the king.  They might not really understand that Jesus is the king of kings and lord of lords, but they just wanted to be fed when they were hungry.  What's our motivation for following the Lord?  Is it for our diseases to be healed, or to have a bright future?   The Lord reminds us here that "Foxes have dens and birds have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head."  If we are following the Lord for rewards, then we're in for a big disappointment!  The way of the Lord is the way of cross; if we don't understand what way of the cross means, one day we won't be able to keep on following Him.  Some disciple said "Lord, first let me go and bury my father," which from human perspective is completely reasonable, but Jesus said "Follow me, and let the dead bury their own dead."  In other word, don't let anything hinder you from following the Lord.  It doesn't mean that the Lord doesn't want us to respect and remember our family; He's just saying that we must be determined to follow Him.  There will always be circumstances that slow us down and excuses that hinder us, and some day we won't be able to follow Him anymore.   Are you willing to follow the Lord?  If there are many hindrances in your life, are you willing to lay them down and simply follow Him?  The Lord is faithful, and He will provide for you according to His abundant riches!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you for reminding us about the price we must pay to follow you, as it is the way of the cross.  Let us understand that we need to make you the top priority of our life, and be determined to solely follow you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!        Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 8:14-17

Matthew 8:14-17   When Jesus came into Peter's house, he saw Peter's mother-in-law lying in bed with a fever.  He touched her hand and the fever left her, and she got up and began to wait on him.  When evening came, many who were demon-possessed were brought to him, and he drove out the spirits with a word and healed all the sick.  This was to fulfill what was spoken through the prophet Isaiah: "He took up our infirmities and bore our diseases."   When the Lord was on earth, He saw many people in need and had mercy on them.  The Lord's healing power came upon each patient through His mercy.  When we pray for healing, we never emphasize on power, but rather God's love and mercy.  Healing is not a cold hard release of power, but rather the outflow of God's love in many forms.   First, healing originated from the love from the cross.  We are often concerned whether we will be healed, but Isaiah clearly says that "by his wounds we are healed."  This passage means the Lord has taken on all our weaknesses and diseases.  When we seek for healing, we must learn to focus on Jesus Christ who loves us dearly, and contemplate about His love and salvation on the cross.  The process of waiting to be healed might cause anxiety, so we need to quiet down and think about the Lord, because only the Lord's love is the source of healing.  We need to come before the Lord, pray to be touched by His mercy.  Just like when the Lord was in Jericho, and the blind Bartimaeus heard that Jesus was passing through, and he shouted: "Jesus, Son of David, have mercy on me!"  Jesus heard him and stopped, as such pleading touched his merciful heart.  Only the Lord mercy can bring forth true power of healing.   Next, it's the love of the church.  Each time brothers and sisters get sick in the church, they need to be surrounded by other brothers and sisters who'll pray for them.  Not only would the prayer allow the Lord's love flow through the patients, it also lets the love among the body of Christ flow through the patients.  When we are face to face with God and people, the faith inside us will be revived, and in the love of Christ all of us are brought before God.  James 5:16 says that "Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective."  We don't have any power to heal, but because of the Lord's love on the cross, the stream of healing will flow out to all those in need through brothers and sisters.  Jesus took up our infirmities and bore our diseases, so if you bring your infirmities and diseases to the Lord today, He will surely take care of you!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, please pour down the Holy Spirit on all brothers and sisters, and let them deliver all their infirmities and diseases to your hands.  You said that you will take up our infirmities and bear our diseases, and we ask that you save us from the hands of the enemy and let us once again be made perfect.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!           Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!