Today's Passage - Joshua 5:8-9

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 5:8 - 9   "And after the whole nation had been circumcised, they remained where they were in camp until they were healed. Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." So the place has been called Gilgal to this day.   God said "Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you." Isn't the salvation completed when the Israelites left Egypt? The miracle of Passover is where God used blood as a sign to rescue the Israelites from the destroyer. And Israelites were delivered from their four hundred years of slavery on the day after the Passover. The sight of leaving Egypt was magnificent and joyful. And as they left Egypt, they took Egyptians' wealth and livestock. Why then, God said He rolled away the reproach of Egypt today? This is because even though they have left Egypt, but Egypt is still in their hearts.   This is because when they were in wilderness, they always complained about how good Egypt was and how unwilling they are to leave Egypt. Even though they have departed Egypt, but Egypt had remained in their heart. Therefore when they were arrived at the gateway of the Promised Land, they were unwilling to enter the Promised Land because they heard that the indigenous people are like giants. The real problem is because of the Egypt that is like a stronghold in their hearts, which prevented them from entering the abundance of God. Only when Israelites had their circumcision, where they not only had it on their flesh but also surrender to God through the act of circumcision, the Egypt that was on their hearts were finally removed.   In our Christian journey, there are times where we were lead out of Egypt. God set us free from sins and bondages, but unfortunately, Egypt stayed in our hearts. The influence of the world is so strong in their hearts to a point where their lives are filled with all sorts of bitterness. Many believers don't understand that the bitterness in their hearts are due to Egypt not being removed from their hearts and have become a stronghold.   How about you? Are you willing to have the reproach of Egypt rolled away from you? May the Holy Spirit help us to surrender to God. Only when we are obedient to the leading of His word in our daily lives, then the Egypt could be removed from our hearts. As we obey, God will say "I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you."   Pray with Pastor Tong     Dear Lord, may you do the work of rolling away the Egypt from our hearts today. May the Gilgal comes into our hearts. May the Lord remove from our hearts all the bondages and strongholds from the world, so that we may be obedient. I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Joshua 5:6-7

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 5:6-7   "The Israelites had moved about in the wilderness forty years until all the men who were of military age when they left Egypt had died, since they had not obeyed the Lord. For the Lord had sworn to them that they would not see the land he had solemnly promised their ancestors to give us, a land flowing with milk and honey. So he raised up their sons in their place, and these were the ones Joshua circumcised. They were still uncircumcised because they had not been circumcised on the way."             The outward circumcision could not bring salvation. The Israelites who left Egypt were born there and were circumcised according to the Laws, but their hearts were away from God even though they were circumcised. Their hearts were hardened when they were close to the Promised Land, and they refused to attack enemy. This caused God to punish them, that all of those who left Egypt had to die in the wilderness. And their children, who were born in the wilderness, had never been circumcised.             The Israelites who had been circumcised died in the wilderness because they were lack of faith and were unwilling to obey by entering the land of Canaan; The main reason that those circumcised died in the wilderness and those uncircumcised entered the Promised Land is obedience. Many try to serve God by experience, thinking that they should have some authority simply because they have been around long enough; others try to serve God by relationships, thinking that they can secure a position as long as they have good relationships. Real spirituality is neither associated with these nor bible knowledge. The greatest danger of a Christian is that many feel that they are spiritual after they read the Bible many times. What's even worse is many thought that they are spiritual because they studied theology. These are meaningless, a chasing after the wind.             Real spirituality lies with our obedience to the Lord. Dear brothers and sisters, are you obedient to the things that God has commanded? Are you obedient on your tithe? Are you obedient on the commandment to love one another? Are you obedient on sharing the gospel? If you cannot be obedient in basic things as such, how do you expect God to bless you? Promised Land doesn't fall from sky, for God doesn't grant His blessing to lazy person. Promised Land needs to be entered by the feet of the obedient person. When the new generation is obedient to God, they get to enter the Promised Land. Regardless how long you know the Lord, how long have you been baptized, I want to ask: Are you obedient to God? Only those who are obedient can please Him.   Pray with Pastor Tong     Dear Lord, may You help us not to be like Israelites who died in the wilderness because of disobedience. May You continue to grant us an obedient heart to not rely on our experience, relationships or knowledge. Help us to have an obedient heart to follow Your words every day. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Joshua 5:2-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 5:2 - 5   "At that time the Lord said to Joshua, 'Make flint knives and circumcise the Israelites again.' So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the Israelites at Gibeath Haaraloth. Now this is why he did so: All those who came out of Egypt - all the men of military age - died in the wilderness on the way after leaving Egypt. All the people that came out had been circumcised, but all the people born in the wilderness during the journey from Egypt had not."             Circumcision is the sign of covenant between God and His people when He chose Abraham. There are a few meanings of circumcision. First, this is the proof that God has a covenant with the Israelites, giving assurance that God will look after Israelites and be their God. Genesis 17:13 says that "my covenant in your flesh...", therefore circumcision is a sign of the covenant. Secondly, this is a testimony, showing that Israelites are chosen by the Lord and separated from all nations to be people of God. Back then, all male were to be circumcised on the eightieth day of their birth, to show that they belong to the Lord.             Similar sign can be found in New Testament, in Colossians 2:11, "In Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision not performed by human hands. Your whole self ruled by the flesh was put off when you were circumcised by Christ, having been buried with him in baptism, in which you were also raised with him through your faith in the working of God, who raised him from the dead." So in the New Testament time, baptism is equal to circumcision in the Old Testament, which meant to have all God's elect to put off the bondages of flesh.             This concept occurred many times throughout the Old Testament. Prophet Jeremiah reminded Israelites many times to be circumcised on their hearts, not just on their flesh, for circumcision on the flesh cannot save them. In fact, many that lived during the Old Testament time were struck dead by the Lord even though they were circumcised on their flesh. Likewise, baptism itself cannot be relied on. Baptism is a sign that we belong to the Lord, but baptism doesn't guarantee our salvation, unless you are willing to die, be buried, and live again with the Lord every day. How is your spiritual life? Is your life connected to God? May the Lord help us to rely on Him in our daily lives, and to live out the life of Christ.   Pray with Pastor Tong     Dear Lord, I thank you, for Your promises last forever. May You help us not to be circumcised on the flesh but to be circumcised on our hearts, so that we can live the testimony of being buried into death and raised from the dead. I thank you and I pray all these in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Joshua 5:1

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 5:1   Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the Lord had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until they had crossed over, their hearts melted in fear and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.   It is interesting how the enemy lost their courage when they heard about the work of the Lord. Bible mentions many times about what happened when news were heard. When Nehemiah was rebuilding the wall of Jerusalem, the enemy kept mocking and even planning to wipe them off while they were unprepared. But Nehemiah and the people were prepared, they had half of their men did the work while the other half equipped with weapons, so they were not affected by their threatening. Nehemiah 4:15, "When our enemies heard that we were aware of their plot and that God had frustrated it," they did no longer want to attack the Israelites.   In order for the enemy to hear, there must be telling. In other words, we need to learn to keep talking about God's wonderful deeds if we want to overcome the enemy in spiritual warfare. The more we talk about the grace of God, the more His grace will manifest; on the contrary, when we used to not talking about the grace of God, the grace of God will not manifest among us. We believe in a great and mighty God, but many times from our mouth He seems like a tiny god who is good for almost nothing. When others ask "How is it like to believe in Jesus?", we respond with "so so". Or when others ask "Is it true that God can make a way out of no way?", we respond with "Maybe." The gospel, which is powerful and contagious, often becomes "so so" and "maybe" in our mouth. When others hear us saying "so so", they might think that gospel is just something of insignificant and there is no difference between believing and not believing in Christ.   May the Lord help us to never be a cooler of gospel but to be a magnifier of gospel. We need to loudly proclaim about the grace of God with all of our hearts. This is not to say that we need to exaggerate, but we shouldn't just be inferior and say grace is no big deal. Every grace that comes upon us is a big deal and we should give praise to Him for that grace. When the enemy heard the praises of God's people, it would know that the Lord is among His people, and it will not dare to attack. This is the secret to victory that God has given to us. Are you under bondages of the enemy? May the Spirit of God come and release our hearts and our mouths, so that we will no longer complain but rather rejoice and give glory to God!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Dear Lord, I thank You, for You lead us in victory. May You teach us how to face spiritual warfare and how to proclaim Your works. Help us to be a magnifier of your gospel, not a cooler, so that the enemy will flee. I thank You and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Joshua 4:23-24

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 4:23-24   For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over. He did this so that all the peoples of the earth might know that the hand of the Lord is powerful and so that you might always fear the Lord your God."    The way that God leads us is usually not what we would expect. Sometimes when we are in the midst of it, we don't sense that God is hold our hands, but He has already made way for us and He's waiting for us to cross over. A couple things that happened during a mission trip to Vancouver can best illustrate this truth.   The third day we were in Vancouver, we set up outside a store for an outdoor worship and also to pass out gospel tracks. We had a great experience the day before, so we were happily preparing the musical instruments for worship and balloons as gifts. Only after passing out one gospel track to a family, the store manager came out and asked us to stop our activities, so we had to move to a new location. At the time I was puzzled how God was going to lead us. That night, a family came to our evangelistic crusade and said they were invited by me, and it was the only family whom I passed out the gospel track to. That was the first day they ever attended a church activity. Wasn't it wonderful? The hands of men want to hinder God's work, but God has already prepared those He wanted to win over, and He's just waiting for us to reap the harvest!   On the last day of the trip, we were preparing to go home. It was a Sunday, so the border crossing from Vancouver back to the US was rather crowded, and when we crossed the border we only had a little bit of time to reach the Seattle airport. We were going to rush as much as we could, but then there were constructions on the freeway! That morning we were singing in the choir that "God will never delay," but now we thought all twenty of us will miss our flight! While driving we reached the airline, and we found out that there was a later flight into Oakland and there were still empty seats. A bunch us reached Seattle airport first, checked in and at the end eleven of us made it to the original flight, and the other nine members got on the flight to Oakland. Even though it was 1am the morning when they reached Oakland, there was still shuttle bus available waiting for us! Finally, everyone made their way home by 2am. God had already prepared our way and was waiting for us to cross over! He'll never delay, so let us depend on Him in our daily life!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, please affirm our determination to follow you. No matter how you are leading us in life or whether we can feel your hands, let us clearly see that you have already prepared the way before us. You're just waiting for us to cross over, for you are the God who never delays! I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Joshua 4:19-23

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 4:19-23   On the tenth day of the first month the people went up from the Jordan and camped at Gilgal on the eastern border of Jericho. And Joshua set up at Gilgal the twelve stones they had taken out of the Jordan. He said to the Israelites, "In the future when your descendants ask their parents, 'What do these stones mean?' Tell them, 'Israel crossed the Jordan on dry ground.' For the Lord your God dried up the Jordan before you until you had crossed over. The Lord your God did to the Jordan what he had done to the Red Sea when he dried it up before us until we had crossed over.    God gave us a new perspective on how the Israelites cross Jordan River. When the Israelites were crossing the river, not only did God perform a miracle, but He was actually leading the way ahead of them all the time. In fact, God first dried up the Red Sea and Jordan River, and then was waiting for the Israelites to cross. That's how God leads us - He first prepares the way for us, and then He waits for us to go to Him. It's like how a toddler learns to walk - Parents first remove all the obstacles, and then they stand somewhere not too far way, open their arms and call out for the toddler: "Come, daddy and mommy are here!" The toddler then wobbles his way to the parents. The toddler might be thinking, how come daddy and mommy don't come to help me? After we grow up, we realize that it was the process of growth.   In the same way, that's how God leads us. Sometimes we're in the middle of a trial and we wonder why God doesn't give us a hand, but we do not see that God is already ahead of us. He has made way for us and He's waiting for us to cross. The Lord's guidance is wonderful, and His promises are even more wonderful. We need to hold onto His promises in our daily life and let them become the strength for us to move forward.   Many years ago, I was preparing to leave East Coast to move the family to California. Two days before we left, I found out that the electric system in the car was malfunctioning and the car was breaking down all over the place. The day before I left I had it checked by someone, and the technician said it'd be hard to get everything checked in one day and he could only do his best. I prayed to the Lord and the Lord gave me a promise that He has made way ahead of me and He's just waiting for me to go to Him. The next day, we moved forward according to plan, and every day I prayed according to His promise, "Lord, you said you are ahead of us and waiting for us to cross over!" We then experienced the Lord's protection every day, and reached California safely after two weeks. In your life today, do you feel lonely and helpless? Don't forget that our God is the God who's ahead of you, and He's waiting for you to cross over!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, I thank you because you lead us in such wonderful ways. Even though sometimes it's difficult to understand, but you've already made way for us and you're just waiting for us to cross over. May you continue to fulfill your promise, lead us forward with strength and comfort in our daily life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Joshua 4:15-18

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 4:15-18   Then the Lord said to Joshua, "Command the priests carrying the ark of the covenant law to come up out of the Jordan." So Joshua commanded the priests, "Come up out of the Jordan." And the priests came up out of the river carrying the ark of the covenant of the Lord. No sooner had they set their feet on the dry ground than the waters of the Jordan returned to their place and ran at flood stage as before.   The God we believe in is indeed a marvelous and wonderful true God. He can make way in the wilderness and streams in the wasteland, and He can create a path in the sea and open a way in the water. Nothing is impossible in Him! Sometimes we have a misconception while reading the Bible; we think that the stories are true and they are encouraging when we read them, but they are really just ancient stories. God is the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, but those are also characters from the ancient time. When we hear the pastor preaching about the land of our future and the beautiful heavenly home, we think those are things of distant future. We mistakenly think that our God is a God of the past and the future, so we often cry out inside, asking where is God today.   Did you know that the God we believe in is also the God of today? We cannot experience God not because He's not working, but it's because the faith in our hearts is dull. After Jesus resurrected, He revealed Himself to two disciples who were going to Emmaus, but they couldn't recognize the Lord. Their hearts were so worried that they couldn't notice who was right beside them, and the Lord actually walked with them for a while. We thank the Lord because He's always waiting for us with so much patience! After the Lord sat with them and they partook the bread, their eyes were opened and they realized that all this time the Lord was with them and never left them. No wonder the Lord reprimanded them that they were slow to belive.   Do you believe that God is the God of "now"? No matter what your circumstance is, He can surely help you. Hebrew 11:6 says that "And without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." How is your faith? Do you just believe that God exists, or do you believe that He rewards those who seek Him? He's not only the God of past and future, He's also the God of now. He's willing to help you right now as long as you are willing to depend on Him!   Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, when we look upon you, we ask that you release true faith inside us. Let us depend on you in any circumstance in our life, and testify that you are God of now, and that you are will to help us in your joyfulness. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Joshua 4:11-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Joshua 4:11-14    ...And as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the Lord and the priests came to the other side while the people watched. The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, ready for battle, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them. About forty thousand armed for battle crossed over before the Lord to the plains of Jericho for war. That day the Lord exalted Joshua in the sight of all Israel; and they stood in awe of him all the days of his life, just as they had stood in awe of Moses.     If one obeys God, God will make people stand in awe of him. That's a spiritual principle that never changes. Unfortunately, a lot of people have overlooked this truth; in their life and ministry, they make tremendous effort to elevate and show off themselves with their own might. They are afraid that people won't respect them, so they do whatever it takes to protect their stature; even when they are in church, they inadvertently try hard to solidify their influence. Actually, all these efforts are doomed for failure because they are out of our flesh. God's principle is very simple - Obey God, and He will consider us friends and He will exalt us. We'll be exalted not because we're worthy, but only because we obey God and become His vessel. People who cruise the streets with a policeman will be respected, and in the same way those who walk with God will also be respected.   Brothers and sisters, don't ever worry about your fame and stature, but always begin with the most basic spiritual matters in your life, which is obedience, and "those who humble themselves will be exalted." Obedience is a subject that everyone can talk about, but not everyone can practice. It's difficult to obey because our minds are filled with impurities. When Peter was praying in the upper room, he saw a vision, where a big sack fell filled with unclean foods fell from the sky. The Lord told Peter: "Kill and eat." It seems to be such a simple command, but it was extremely difficult for Peter, because those were things that he couldn't eat according to his tradition and he never had them before. In today's passage, Joshua set a great example for obedience. He obeyed God and he bore the testimony of obedience while leading the Israelites. This is a great example of trust and obedience, and may God give us to same determination to obey Him!    Pray with Pastor Tong     Lord, we thank you because you are a faithful God, and every word from you carries power. You said that those who humble themselves small be exalted, so I ask that you help us to hear your voice more easily, and be willing to obey you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!