Monday, April 30, 2018

Today's Passage - Psalm 37:5-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 37:5-8

  

Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this: He will make your righteous reward shine like the dawn, your vindication like the noonday sun. Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes. Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret - it leads only to evil.

  

Verse 5 says: "Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this..." God knows your way, and He cares about your things. He knows what you think you need and what you really need! Therefore, God will always provide us abundantly for all our needs in life according to His faithfulness! You can entrust everything in your life to God, because whenever we do that God will meet our needs. Hebrews 11:6 says "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." Let us not only believe that God is sitting on the throne, but also that He rewards those who seek Him.

 

So how do we depend on God? Verse 7 says that we must "be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him." When you are driving, I bet you really hate when there's a backseat driver in the car. Similarly, when God is driving our car, let us quietly and patiently wait upon God. Let's not be a backseat driver, always want to direct God to go left and right. God knows the best way for us, and He knows how to lead us to go our way. Let us learn to depend on God quietly, simply wait upon Him and look upon Him. We must believe that it's always far better for us to be in His hand than to in our own hands!

 

May God help us and affirm our faith. Verse 8 tells us not to fret and end up doing evil. Often we fret when God didn't guide us according to our expectation, or we fret when we see those walking in sin become more successful than us. When we fret, we must seek the Lord's forgiveness, and once again come before God to wait upon Him. If you allow yourself to fret inside, you will end up in sin, grumbling and complaining, or even seek revenge and do evil! Once you do evil to get even, you are no better than those you are holding a grudge against! May the Lord help us, no matter what the circumstance is, don't fret, just trust in God quietly. Commit our way to God and He will accomplish things for us!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, we thank you because you know all our needs. When we entrust everything to you, you will accomplish everything for us. May the Lord teach us to trust you and to wait upon you quietly. I thank and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!  

  
                 
         

Sunday, April 29, 2018

Today's Passage - Psalm 37:1-4

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 37:1-4

  

Do not fret because of those who are evil or be envious of those who do wrong; for like the grass they will soon wither, like green plants they will soon die away. Trust in the Lord and do good; dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture. Take delight in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart.

 

Verse 4 has a precious promise of God: "He will give you the desires of your heart." Hallelujah! The desires of our hearts might not be known by people around us, but God will give them to us! So, how are we going to receive such promise of abundance? First, we cannot hold grudge against those who are evil like what verse 1 says. If you do, your heart will fall into bitterness and complaints. Perhaps you think you are just holding a grudge against people around you, but when your heart is holding any grudge, deep down inside your heart you are actually complaining to God, so how can God answer your prayer? May God help us to lay down all our grudges or any bitterness and complaint, and let the redeeming and sacrificial love of Jesus Christ fill us once again.

 

Second, verse 3 says that we must "trust in the Lord and do good." Not only should we trust the Lord, we also need to do good. The good that the Bible talks about is whatever God wants us to do. As soon as you can depend on God to accomplish what He wants you to do, your prayer will be answered by God and please God. Third, you believe in His promise. Verse 3 says that we shall "dwell in the land and enjoy safe pasture." "Safe" means that God's word is completely dependable, so we must hold on to and believe in His promises. God's word is still trustworthy today, every word of His carries power and once spoken His word will never return. Thus, when we hold on to His promise when we pray, how could God not answer our prayer?

 

Fourth, and the final point, we must "take delight in the Lord." In our daily life, we must understand how to delight in the Lord. What makes your heart rejoice? It could be completion of a project in your company, having a sumptuous dinner at a restaurant with friends, or playing a game of sports with friends. Have you ever, however, thought about letting God become the stream of joy in your heart? The Bible tells us again and again that God is the source of our joy. Therefore, we must once again turn back to God, look upon Him, depend on Him and seek Him! If we haven't experience how God is our joy, then we must cry out to Him: "Lord, please let me experience you today!" When you open your heart before God, God will fill you with abundance from the Holy Spirit.

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, we know you are willing to give the desires of our heart, so we ask that you help us in our daily life. Let us not hold any grudge but just trust in you and do good. We believe in your promises and may you be the fountain of our joy. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

  
                 
         

Saturday, April 28, 2018

Today's Passage - Psalm 36:8-12

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 36:8-12

 

They feast on the abundance of your house; you give them drink from your river of delights. For with you is the fountain of life; in your light we see light.

 

Verse 8 says that "they feast on the abundance of your house." "Your house" means the presence of God. When we enter into the presence of God, we may enjoy all the richness in God, and our life will become abundant. The easiest way to enter into God's presence is to learn to praise and worship Him in our daily life. Psalm 100 says "enter his gates with thanksgiving and his courts with praise." Through thanksgiving and praising, we may enter into the house of God. Let's learn to praise His name, and give thanks to Him for all that He's done in our daily life! As soon as you have a thankful heart, you will enter His presence and your life will become abundant.

 

God also wants us to drink from the river of delights. Did you know that there's a stream in God? That is the stream of Holy Spirit. When we enter God's presence, we can drink from the river of Holy Spirit and never ben thirsty and scarce again, and we will always have God's word and His love flowing out from our life. Verse 9 says that God is with the fountain of life; He's not only the fountain of life is with Him, He's actually the fountain, for everything that we have in life is from God. Gospel of John 1:4 says "In him was life, and that life was the light of all mankind." When we receive Jesus into our life, His life is light that can shine into our darkness. If we were in the valley of shadow of death and sin, when we accept His life into us, it will shine into us and let us see how dark we were. We would then turn back to Jesus again and again, and ask the precious blood of Lord Jesus to cleanse us and forgive.

 

Not only does God's word shine upon us and cleanse, us, light of the Lord's life will also shine the path ahead of us. Psalm 119:105 says: "Your word is a lamp for my feet, a light on my path." When we allow Jesus be the Lord of our life, God will give us His word. When we understand His word, suddenly the lamp before our feet and light on our path will start to shine, and we will know where to go! May God help us to turn back to Him every day, because He is the fountain of life, and in God's light we will see light. Did you know that one day we will meet God? We need to live in His light now so that we will see God one day!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, you are the true light of our life! When we receive your light, all the authority of darkness in our life will be shattered, hallelujah! We give you all the glory! May you help us to enter into your presence and enjoy being with you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

     

 

                 
         

Friday, April 27, 2018

Today's Passage - Psalm 36:1-7

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 36:1-7

 

...Your love, Lord, reaches to the heavens, your faithfulness to the skies. Your righteousness is like the highest mountains, your justice like the great deep.  You, Lord, preserve both people and animals. How priceless is your unfailing love, O God!  People take refuge in the shadow of your wings.  

 

Our God is a righteous and loving God! It says here first: "Your righteousness is like the highest mountain, your justice like the great deep. You, Lord, preserve both people and animals." God's righteousness is like the highest mountains. In other word, God will extend His righteousness and His righteousness will manifest in this time of darkness. The authority of darkness will be crushed and justice will rule. God will surely vindicate those who have suffered and He will rescue His people.

 

Even though sometimes the circumstances seem to suffocate us, but we must again and again lift God's righteousness up high, because God's righteousness still rules. All the authority of darkness will eventually pass away, so we must have hope in our hearts. Sometimes the way that God saves us might be different from our expectation though. Our concept of God is often much like the genie inside Aladdin's lamp. When we encounter any problem, we want to wipe the lamp and have the genie come out: "Master, what can I do for you?" So, who is the master - is it God or is it us? Our concept must be corrected by God. God will let righteousness prevail and rescue us, but not always in the ways that genie from Aladdin's lamp would save us. God still has His ways and His guidance, so let us obey God before Him and simply look upon Him!

 

Not only is our God a righteous God, He's also a loving God. This passage describes God's love like a pair of wings. We can hide under God's wings like eaglet under an eagle or chick under a hen. When they encounter any trouble, eagle or hen will always spread their wings and embrace their babies. In the same way, God will embrace us under His wings. We will enjoy peace, joy and protection under His wings, Hallelujah! Our God is filled with love; no authority of darkness or attach by the enemy can harm us, because we can hide under His wings. This is such a precious promise! May the Lord help us, no matter what circumstance we're in, let us lift our heads and look upon Him! We praise God and thank Him for His righteousness and love!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, you are our righteous God and you will save us. You are our loving God and you will let us hide under your wings. May you comfort and encourage our hearts so that we may bravely dash forward in our journey of life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!     

 

                 
         

Thursday, April 26, 2018

Today's Passage - Psalm 35:18-28

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 35:18-28

 

I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you. Do not let those gloat over me who are my enemies without cause; do not let those who hate me without reason maliciously wink the eye... May all who gloat over my distress be put to shame and confusion; may all who exalt themselves over me be clothed with shame and disgrace. May those who delight in my vindication shout for joy and gladness; may they always say, "The Lord be exalted, who delights in the well-being of his servant." My tongue will proclaim your righteousness, your praises all day long.

 

When you are attacked by the enemy, there's one thing that we must learn, which is not to escape from the hardship when it comes to you. When we are in the midst of hardship, attacked by the enemy or fall into state of financial distress, we often want to escape from the problem. We don't want to come to church, see our friends or see the brothers and sisters, because we don't want to face our problems. Brothers and sisters, in Christ we belong to the same body and we're one family. When we encounter any difficult circumstance or hardship, we need to learn to support one another as brothers and sisters, and bear each other's burden.

 

Verse 18 says that "I will give you thanks in the great assembly; among the throngs I will praise you." The psalmist clearly understood this truth, so when he encountered all kinds of difficulties, he would turn back to church to praise and give thanks to God with fellow brothers and sisters. Brothers and sisters, when you are feeling weak, I also encourage you not to withdraw. You must go back to church and praise God with other brothers and sisters. Sometimes our faith is weak when we're alone, if you try to praise and give thanks to God you might run out of words quickly, because your heart is filled with doubt. When you come before God with other brothers and sisters, even if you are in hardship, your soul will be uplifted and your faith will be strengthened with prayer when everyone around you are looking upon the Lord's throne, lifting the Lord high and praising Him. If you, however, try to escape, your faith will only become weaker.

 

May God help us to come before God and uplift the throne of the Lord with brothers and sisters. Not only that, when we are with brothers and sisters, let us support one another, bear each other's burden and share each other's joy. This is such a precious thing! May God give us the joy of being in His family. Let us learn to praise God together with brothers and sisters and support one another!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, we thank you because you let us dash forward on our spiritual journey with other brothers and sisters. May you teach us to praise you with brothers and sisters, and to support one another in our daily life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!     

 

                 
         

Wednesday, April 25, 2018

Today's Passage - Psalm 35:9-17

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 35:9-17

  

Then my soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation...  But when I stumbled, they gathered in glee; assailants gathered against me without my knowledge.  They slandered me without ceasing. Like the ungodly they maliciously mocked; they gnashed their teeth at me. How long, Lord, will you look on? Rescue me from their ravages, my precious life from these lions.

 

Have you experienced what the psalmist experienced? He treated others kindly, but they ended up slandering him. As we live in the world, we witness how enemies attack us ferociously, and we are often disgruntled in our hearts and we are filled with complaints and bitterness. Not only do we complain about others, we also complain against God, "God, why do you allow all these things to happen to us? How long are you going to hide your face from us?" David, however, said in verse 9: "My soul will rejoice in the Lord and delight in his salvation." This is such an unusual thing! From human perspective David was filled with grievance, but his heart was still filled with joy and happiness because of God.

 

No matter what happens in our lives, we can rejoice because of God, because we understand how to ask two most important questions. First question is: "Lord, what is your hand doing now?" We need to understand God's will and what He's doing right now, but not just look at what's happening on the surface. God's children must once again turn back to Father God, and find out His will and His deeds. Second question is: "Lord, what would you like me to do?" On the one hand we need to know what God's hand is doing and on the other hand we need to know how God wants us to do with Him. No matter what the circumstance is, we must learn to ask these two very important questions. As soon as you ask these questions, your spiritual life will experience breakthrough.

 

When Habakkuk saw how God raised up Chaldeans to punish the Israelites, he really didn't understand and he was filled with questions and complaints: "God, how could you allow Chaldeans to punish the Israelites?" So, he went up to the watch tower to ask for God's will. As soon as he understood God's will, he said in Book of Habakkuk chapter three: "Though the fig tree does not bud and there are no grapes on the vines, though the olive crop fails and the fields produce no food, though there are no sheep in the pen and no cattle in the stalls, yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior." Our hearts can rejoice because of our Lord!

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, let us hand our circumstance over to your hands. No matter what the situation in our life is, teach us to rejoice because of you and your salvation. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!     

 

                 
         

Tuesday, April 24, 2018

Today's Passage - Psalm 35:1-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 35:1-8

  

Contend, Lord, with those who contend with me; fight against those who fight against me. Take up shield and armor; arise and come to my aid. Brandish spear and javelin against those who pursue me. Say to me, "I am your salvation." May those who seek my life be disgraced and put to shame; may those who plot my ruin be turned back in dismay...

  

Did you know that our God is the God who fights for us? In the lifetime of David, he experienced it many times, like when he faced the battle against Goliath. When he was facing Goliath, he didn't depend on the weapons of men, because when he put on the armor of Saul and armor was way too heavy for him and he couldn't even stand us. Brothers and sisters, in the midst of a spiritual battle, you can't borrow someone's armor, and you actually won't need anyone's armor, because the Lord's grace is sufficient for you!

 

So, David picked up five stones by the riverbed, picked up his sling and confronted his enemy. When he encountered Goliath, he said to Goliath: "You come against me with sword and spear and javelin, but I come against you in the name of the Lord Almighty, the God of the armies of Israel." David clearly knew that he's fighting with the Lord, so he started to swing his sling. Some said that inside the little stone there's a GPS from God, which guided the stone to land on the forehead of Goliath, who fell on the ground and died. Not by power, nor by might, but by the spirit of God! God fought for David throughout his life; there were many battles where God personally revealed to God how to fight. David won the battles with God, and even won overwhelmingly, hallelujah!

 

In a spiritual battle, are you willing to depend on God and look upon Him? Did you know that God can prepare a feast before our enemy? Think about it - How are you going to eat in front of God? God, however, will perform a miracle, which is to fight the battle for us! Hallelujah! When we know that God will fight for us, we can take it easy, because God will overcome our enemy! Therefore, we can be like the author of Psalm 23 - We can sit down, eat and drink, and enjoy the feast that God prepared for us. Brothers and sisters, are you encountering any battle or hardship? Don't depend on your own might, just come before God and depend on God's authority and power, and once again proclaim: "My God is the God who fights for me! In my daily life, He will make way for me and overcome the enemy for me!"

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, you are the God who fights for us. Let us depend on you and look upon you. Just like David, we are depending on God to fight, and we pray that you will lead us to proclaim victory against our enemy! I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!    

 

                 
         

Monday, April 23, 2018

Today's Passage - Psalm 34:12-22

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

Psalm 34:12-22

  

Whoever of you loves life and desires to see many good days, keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies. Turn from evil and do good; seek peace and pursue it. The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and his ears are attentive to their cry; but the face of the Lord is against those who do evil, to blot out their name from the earth. The righteous cry out, and the Lord hears them; he delivers them from all their troubles...

  

The psalmist asked us a good question here - Who can love life and desire to see many good days? I believe that everyone wishes to live a long life and enjoy good days, so both of these are important, but the secret of achieving is to "keep your tongue from evil and your lips from telling lies." In other word, we must guard the words from our mouth, so that we may please God and others in our life.

 

Book of James clearly said: "Can both fresh water and salt water flow from the same spring?" It's totally impossible - The water from a spring is either fresh or salty, it's not possible for both kinds of water to come out. It's up to us whether we want sweet water or salty water to come out from our mouth. If we choose to have sweet water come out, then salty water won't come out. If we choose to have salty water come out, then sweet water won't come out. Let us choose to speak words praises, thanksgiving and edification. When we choose the right words, we're guarding our heart not to fall into bitterness and complaints. As soon as our heart is guarded, God's grace will naturally come upon us, hallelujah!

 

Brothers and sisters, what kind of words are coming out from your mouth? Don't ever thing that speaking a little bad word won't hurt and it's alright to throw a tantrum occasionally. When we speak words that are bitter, harsh, critical and judgmental, we think we might be hurting others, but we are actually hurting ourselves inside even more! We are allowing ourselves to fall into bitterness, complaint and judgment, and these are the key reasons for the flow of God's blessings to be choked. In other word, when we casually allow words of criticism, judgment and complaints to come out from us, we're blocking God's blessings from coming upon us. May God give us a sober heart, let us be cautious of the words from our mouth and behavior in our life, so that God's favor may fill our daily life.

 

Pray with Pastor Tong    

   

Lord, may you examine whether the words from our mouths are pleasing you, and may you help us to turn everything we say into words of thanksgiving, edification and praise, so that your heart may be satisfied. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!