Today's Passage - Matthew 18:28-35

Matthew 18:28-35   "But when that servant went out, he found one of his fellow servants who owed him a hundred silver coins. He grabbed him and began to choke him. 'Pay back what you owe me!' he demanded.  His fellow servant fell to his knees and begged him, 'Be patient with me, and I will pay it back.'  "But he refused. Instead, he went off and had the man thrown into prison until he could pay the debt.  When the other servants saw what had happened, they were outraged and went and told their master everything that had happened.  Then the master called the servant in. 'You wicked servant,' he said, 'I canceled all that debt of yours because you begged me to.  Shouldn't you have had mercy on your fellow servant just as I had on you?'   In anger his master handed him over to the jailers to be tortured, until he should pay back all he owed.  This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart."   When you read this parable, you must wonder whether a person like servant could possibly be a Christian.  Unfortunately, it's totally possible.  We must understand a few things here.  First, Christians are merely sinners who have received God's grace.  We are not worthy of the grace; we received it not because we were better than others or we already knew how to love others.  We don't have anything, and we are no better; everything we have is from the grace of God.   Second, Christians must strive to know God more.  When a person first becomes a Christian, he becomes a spiritual baby, so he must work on knowing God more so that his life will become more mature.  He must know the God is full of grace and mercy, so that he can live out God's grace and mercy. He must also know that god is righteous so that he won't dare to do whatever he wants.  He must obey the righteous and holy Lord so that his love can be transformed.   Third, Christians must strive to know ourselves more.  We must know that we are filled with darkness, and there's nothing we can boast about ourselves; all we can do is again and again to give ourselves to the hands of Jesus, and be willing to let Him use us.   Fourth, Christians must become more mature in our life.  We need to let the Holy Spirit work inside us to change us; don't ever say that since Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today and tomorrow, so we should always be the same as well.  The Lord loves you, and because He loves so much He can't help but to change you.  He will surely mold your life to become more like him.  As Christians, we might be like this servant now, but we must ask God not to leave us constantly in this miserable state; rather, help us to mature continuously.   Finally, the Lord gave us a conclusion in verse 35: "This is how my heavenly Father will treat each of you unless you forgive your brother or sister from your heart."  We need to know that our Lord is also the Lord of judgment; if you hope God will treat you gracefully, you must treat your brothers and sisters gracefully.  Are you will to follow the Lord's example starting today?   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, may your Spirit touch us and motivate us again, let us learn to love our brothers and sisters, and even love our enemies.  May your will, Lord, be satisfied through our lives.  Open our eyes and let us see our needs, so that we may see for your help and you will become our strength.  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 18:21-27

Matthew 18:21-27   Then Peter came to Jesus and asked, "Lord, how many times shall I forgive my brother or sister who sins against me? Up to seven times?"  Jesus answered, "I tell you, not seven times, but seventy-seven times.   "Therefore, the kingdom of heaven is like a king who wanted to settle accounts with his servants.  As he began the settlement, a man who owed him ten thousand bags of goldwas brought to him.  Since he was not able to pay, the master ordered that he and his wife and his children and all that he had be sold to repay the debt.  "At this the servant fell on his knees before him. 'Be patient with me,' he begged, 'and I will pay back everything.'   The servant's master took pity on him, canceled the debt and let him go.   Peter asked Jesus how many he had to forgive a brother or sister in order to meet the standard of God.  To Peter, seven times is already a lot, and seven is a number of completeness.  The Lord, however, said it ought to be seventy-seven times.  What the Lord meant was that we ought to be patient and kind.  When we read what the Bible says about love - "Love is patient, love is kind," we know that such love is not from people; by our nature, even though we can be patient for a while, but it's not an everlasting patience, but rather one that lasts a short time.  We often want to live our spiritual life by our natural life, and it's more like squeezing toothpaste.   Toothpaste varies in size, but all toothpaste will come to an end.  Some people have bad temper and reacts to things immediately, others have better temper and are more graceful, but that's all nature, not a matter of spirituality.  Some tubes of toothpaste may be bigger and last longer, but sooner or later it will come to an end.  In our life, when the toothpaste runs out, it really runs out; when our love and patience run out, we simply can't love anymore and be patient anymore.   We must acknowledge that we need more love.  We need to come before God once again to receive the love of Jesus.  In fact before a person knows how to love others, he must first receive love.  Similarly, as we come before God, if we have never experienced the enduring love of patience and kindness, we won't know how to love those around us.  All Christians understand the Lord loves us, but we seldom experience the fact that the Lord's love is filled with patience and kindness.  In the story of prodigal son, both the elder and younger sons understand that the father loved them, but only the younger son really understands that the father's love means enduring patience and kindness.  When we experience such love from God, we will truly understand how to love those around us.  We must turn back to Jesus and accept His love, and then we will be to love those around us in our lives.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you, for we can love because you first loved us, and we can forgive because you first forgave us.  May the Lord's Spirit help us to receive your love in our daily life, and also to share such love to others around us in 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 18:15-20

Matthew 18:15-20   ..."Truly I tell you, whatever you bind on earth will bebound in heaven, and whatever you loose on earth will be loosed in heaven.  Again, truly I tell you that if two of you on earth agree about anything they ask for, it will be done for them by my Father in heaven.  For where two or three gather in my name, there am I with them."     The Lord clearly taught us the principle of serving.  First, we must agree with each other.  When we pray together in agreement, Heavenly Father will answer our prayer.  Some people are highly self-centered and it's difficult for them to agree with others; they study the Bible and come up with their own thought, they pray and come up with their own will.  They are not really enlightened by the Lord, but rather are filled with their own ideas.  May God help us to practice the lesson of self-sacrifice; when we are with brothers and sisters, we need to learn to put down our own ideas, and seek the Lord's will together.  We must also respect the opinions of brothers and sisters, and wait upon God to reveal His will to us.   Next, we need to exercise authority of the Lord.  Our pray carries authority; it's not used on other people, but rather again the work of devil Satan.  The Lord said in His name that we can bind the blindness in our heart and bondage in our body from the devil.  In the same manner, we can also deliver the people of God from sin and illness in the Lord's name.  1 Peter chapter five says that if we resist the devil and stand firm again it, the devil will flee from us.  Did you know that you have such great authority?  When we serve God, the Lord actually gives us so much authority that He will bind in heaven whatever we bind on earth and release in heaven whatever we release on earth.   Third, learn to serve as a team.  In this passage, the word "you" (plural) appeared many times, which shows that the Lord truly values team work.  It's not an individual trying to fight a war, but rather several of us fighting together.  When we gather together before God, two or three people can form a rope and that is not easily broken.  We can break all the work of the enemy by the power and authority given by the Lord.  If we can truly agree with each other and work together as a team, our ministry will have wonderful results and our prayers will be answered.  May the Spirit of God help us, let us have a humble heart in our daily life and work together to serve the Lord.   Pray with Pastor    Lord, we thank you because not only did you save us, you also gave us authority to serve you.  May the Lord help us to know how to agree with the brothers and sisters we are serving together with, so that your name can receive the greatest glory through us.  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 18:12-14

Matthew 18:12-14   "What do you think? If a man owns a hundred sheep, and one of them wanders away, will he not leave the ninety-nine on the hills and go to look for the one that wandered off?   And if he finds it, truly I tell you, he is happier about that one sheep than about the ninety-nine that did not wander off.  In the same way your Father in heaven is not willing that any of these little ones should perish.   The Lord said that if we have a hundred sheep and lost one, we'll surely leave the ninety-nine to find the lost sheep.  If we think carefully, however, that's not what we would do!  It's good enough to have ninety-nine sheep, who cares about the one that is lost?  According to our nature, we'll only look at the ninety-nine that we still have and focus think about the one that was lost.  It's the same thing at church - We like to guard the ninety-nine that we have and we'll count them again and again, but we'd forget that it's the Lord's will to value the 100th sheep, which is to see the needs outside the church.  I firmly believe that the Lord has a "100th sheep club" because the Lord loves the 100th sheep and He's happy to hear the prayer from the 100th sheep.  The Lord would rather look for those who are lost; when disciples reached Samaria, they went around to look for food, but the Lord waited for the Samaritan woman by the well, because He knew that the Samaritan woman needed the gospel.   Each time I listen to testimony during baptismal service, I seldom hear that people accepted the Lord because they understood the truth; rather, most of the testimonies are around how the Lord answered their prayer.  They had needs, prayed to God, and God answered their prayer.  He is truly enjoys being sought after by the 100th sheep, which is the prayer of the truth seekers.  May God help us to see all the people in need around us, and let us express the Lord's love through us.   There's a church called Voice of Pentecost in San Francisco.  The brothers and sisters in that church are led into homosexual communities by their pastor, not to try to convince people to accept the Lord, but to take care of them and bring food to them.  They even serve those that have AIDS!  One time, the leaders of the homosexual community were eating with their pastor, and they told him: "We don't know how to respond to your love!  We thought you hate us, but you really love us, so perhaps this is the love of Jesus Christ!"  Indeed, love of the Lord will seek the sheep that are lost.  May God help us not to always just do the Christian activities inside our church, but rather let us have the heart and action of the Lord and enter into the community to seek and save those are lost, because that is the will of the Lord!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you because it is your grace that sought us and led us to become your children.  May God help us to not only enjoy your grace daily, but also be willing to pass on your grace to those around us.  Let us find the lost sheep so that your heart will be satisfied by our action.  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 18:5-11

Matthew 18:5-11   "And whoever welcomes a little child like this in my name welcomes me. But if anyone causes one of these little ones who believe in me to sin, it would be better for him to have a large millstone hung around his neck and to be drowned in the depths of the sea. "Woe to the world because of the things that cause people to sin! Such things must come, but woe to the man through whom they come! If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life maimed or crippled than to have two hands or two feet and be thrown into eternal fire. And if your eye causes you to sin, gouge it out and throw it away. It is better for you to enter life with one eye than to have two eyes and be thrown into the fire of hell.  "See that you do not look down on one of these little ones. For I tell you that their angels in heaven always see the face of my Father in heaven."    There is a close connection between Jesus and believers. That's why the Lord said again and again, "Whoever welcome a little child like this in my name welcomes me." In other words, the Lord and believers are one. The Lord told a parable: a king rebukes his servant, "'For I was hungry and you gave me nothing to eat, I was thirsty and you gave me nothing to drink, I was a stranger and you did not invite me in, I needed clothes and you did not clothe me, I was sick and in prison and you did not look after me.'" The servants are puzzled. They asked: "Lord, when did we see you hungry or thirsty or a stranger or needing clothes or sick or in prison, and did not help you?'" It is unfortunately that the servants are not looking with their spiritual eyes. Their worldly eyes only see those who have worldly need. They did not see the will of the Lord.     If we don't do for one of the least of our brothers, we do not do for the Lord. We cannot just enter into a ministry for God but not really serve God. Many people like to listen to sermons in church, but do not want to join the ministry, because it is too much trouble. It is true that serving in a church has its troubles. But we can not not serve because of troubles. Are people troublesome? Of course, they are troublesome. But Jesus did not say, "those people are too troublesome. I will not bother with them." The Lord loves us, even gave Himself up for us. Similarly, the Lord wants us to love those who are around us.     What stands between us loving others? Appearance, money? May God rid us those thoughts in our hearts that are not from Him. As the Lord said, "If your hand or your foot causes you to sin, cut it off and throw it away." Of course, the Lord did not ask us to indeed cut our hands. What he referred to was an attitude: For the sake of the Lord, we are willing to get rid of everything that stands in front of us. Is there anything, thoughts, or idea that is hindering you from loving those around you? May God help us by giving us a humble heart. Let us be willing to remove all the obstacles between us and God and follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit each and every day!    Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, May the Holy Spirit shine into our lives and our thoughts in order for us to see all the darkness within us.  We pray that the precious blood of the Lord will purify us so that we are clean once again. May the Lord use us and help us love everyone who's loved by the Lord. 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 18:1-4

Matthew 18:1-4   At that time the disciples came to Jesus and asked, "Who is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven?" He called a little child and had him stand among them. And he said: "I tell you the truth, unless you change and become like little children, you will never enter the kingdom of heaven. Therefore, whoever humbles himself like this child is the greatest in the kingdom of heaven.      The Lord does not ask us to return to the stature of a little child. He wants us to have a child's simple attitude of relying on others. The most lovable part of a child is their simple faith. When my children go window shopping they really don't need to bring money. When they want to buy things, they only need to look at me, pointing to the thing and say, "Daddy, I want that one." And that's all. Even though I am not wealthy, I still try my best to satisfy them. In this world, you and I do not really need million dollars, because we have a merciful heavenly father, to whom we can simply bring all our needs. Of course, that doesn't mean that we can do nothing. However, as we grow older, we grow more rational. More and more we don't simply relying on God, even stop bringing our needs in prayers to God. We think they are childish trickeries. We think that the only things dependable are ourselves.   I, myself, am a father. I understand how pure a child's faith can be I once brought my two daughters to a water park. My elder one can swim, while the younger one can not. I brought the younger one to a shallow place to play where there was a tube slide. I told her that she could go up there and I would meet her at the bottom. She happily went up. After I went into the water, I found it was quite deep. I could not even touch the bottom. I thought, how could I pick her up while I could not even stand still? As I was going to call her coming down, she was already at the top of the slide and waved to me, "Daddy, I am coming!" I hurried to the tube's exit without realizing that I was right in front of it. My daughter slided down and splashed my face such that I could not see anything. I couldn't find where she went. I was more worried, and hurriedly dived into the water and grabbed her. She said to me, "One more time!" At that time, God reminded me that if a father who has not much wisdom, not much power like me would try my best to protect my own daughter, how much more will our heavenly father?   Brothers and sisters, we really need to come back to God like children, and depend on God with our pure and reliant hearts. Nothing is too difficult for Him, and God is more than glad to be our help, our strength, and our salvation in our daily lives.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Dear heavenly father, we are willing to depend on you again, because we are your sons and daughters. You are the Lord who created us and redeemed us. You are also the great shepherd of our daily lives. May God gives us pure and great faith, believing in your provision, guidance, and protection.  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 17:24-27

Matthew 17:24-27    After Jesus and his disciples arrived in Capernaum, the collectors of the two-drachma temple tax came to Peter and asked, "Doesn't your teacher pay the temple tax?"  "Yes, he does," he replied.  When Peter came into the house, Jesus was the first to speak. "What do you think, Simon?" he asked. "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes-from their own children or from others?"  "From others," Peter answered. "Then the children are exempt," Jesus said to him.  "But so that we may not cause offense, go to the lake and throw out your line. Take the first fish you catch; open its mouth and you will find a four-drachma coin. Take it and give it to them for my tax and yours."    The Lord has once again taken this opportunity to educate the disciples, which again demonstrated His true identity to the disciples.  When Jesus was on earth, not only was He the Son of Man, but He was also the Son of God.  As a Son of Man, He needed to obey the law of the world; as a child, He also needed to obey His parents.  One time, when His parents brought Him to the temple, Jesus was discussing about God's word with the rabbis.  His parents, after they left for a while, found out that Jesus did not follow Him, so they rushed to find Him.  After they found Jesus, Mary said to the Lord: "Your father and I have been anxiously searching for you."  Jesus replied: "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?"  Indeed, from the perspective of the Son of God, He should be concerned with matters of Father God; on the other hand, as a son of man, He still obeyed the guidance of His parents, so He went home with them.  Also, when Jesus was baptized, He went to John the Baptist, and John said to Him: "I need to be baptized by you, and do you come to me?"  Jesus replied: "Let it be so now; it is proper for us to do this to fulfill all righteousness."  It is evident from these stories that when the Lord was on earth He tried His best to obey the rules of the law.   All authorities in the world are actually from Father God, same as the authorities of the kings.  Romans 13:1 says that "there is no authority except that which God has established. The authorities that exist have been established by God."  Therefore, the Lord asked here: "From whom do the kings of the earth collect duty and taxes?"  If the world belongs to the Kingdom of God, then the kings need to pay tax to God.  Jesus is the Son of God, so He shouldn't have to pay tax.  Nevertheless, because the Lord cared about the weakness of the disciples and saw that Peter didn't know what to say to the tax collectors, He performed a miracle to show that He's indeed the Son of God.  Jesus truly has mercy on us; He sees our weakness and cares about us, and He will proactively solve our difficulties.  He didn't forsake Peter for the truth, but instead performed a wonderful miracle.  Do you know that He will also perform miracles for you today in big and small things in life?  Just focus on Jesus, and He will personally work in your life!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you because you have mercy on our weakness and you make way for us during difficult times.  You will even perform miracles for us in order to show that not only are you the Son of Man, but also the Son of God.  May the Lord help us to follow your will in our daily life.  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 17:19-23

Matthew 17:19-23   Then the disciples came to Jesus in private and asked, "Why couldn't we drive it out?"  He replied, "Because you have so little faith. Truly I tell you, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you."  When they came together in Galilee, he said to them, "The Son of Man is going to be delivered into the hands of men.  They will kill him, and on the third day he will be raised to life." And the disciples were filled with grief.   When the father went before the Lord, the Lord's help immediately came upon him, and the demon immediately left his son.  After this incident, the disciples secretly went before Jesus, and I like how the Bible says they went to Him "in private."  They had to go to him in private because they didn't want other people to know, but the Lord didn't turn them down.  Did you know that you can bring you most embarrassing moment before the Lord?  You can look upon Him because He's the God who's filled with grace and mercy!  They asked God why couldn't they cast out that demon, and the Lord answered that such type of demon had to be cast out through fasting prayer.  In other word, ordinary prayer is not enough, and prayer in desperation is needed.  The Lord taught us a great principle for prayer, which is the pray in different ways.   Many Chinese Christians believe that they should only pray quietly, but silent prayer is only one type of prayer.  It will help you to be calm before God and enjoy His presence.  Silent prayer, however, make it much easier to fall asleep while praying.  Remember when all disciples fell asleep when the Lord was praying in the garden of Gethsemane?  I believe that they were praying quietly, but Jesus was praying out loud, because He was carrying out a prayer of warfare, which is not supposed to be done silently.   Why do you think your prayer is not effective?  Perhaps it's because you are only praying in one way.  Actually, you can try different formats of prayer.  If your silent prayer is not effective, then pray out lout; if praying out loud is not effective, then pray in proclamation; if praying proclamations is not effective, then fast and pray, or even pray over-night.  The greatest danger in the spiritual realm is that we insist on going by our thoughts and ways, but not listen to and obey the Lord's way.  If you have been praying for something for a while but the prayer has not been effective, you should try a different type of prayer.  Seek to obey God, and He will give you wisdom in all things.  The Lord will give you strength and help you to breakthrough your current circumstance, so let's depend on Him in our daily life!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you because you are the true God who gives us strength and authority.  When we seek you face, may the Holy Spirit teach us to pray so that we may experience your victory and abundance.  May you deliver us from our current circumstance and help enter into your freedom and joy, and let your name receive true glory through us.  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!