Today's Passage - John 9:26-34

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 9:26-34   ....Then they hurled insults at him and said, "You are this fellow's disciple! We are the disciples of Moses! We know that God spoke to Moses, but as for this fellow, we don't even know where he comes from."  The man answered, "Now that this is remarkable! You don't know where he comes from, yet he opened my eyes.  We know that God does not listen to sinners.  He listens to the godly man who does his will.  Nobody has ever heard of opening the eyes of a man born blind.  If this man were not from God, he could do nothing." To this they replied, "You are steep in sin at birth; how dare you lecture us!" And they threw him out.   The real issue with the Pharisees was that they wanted to place God into their principle of rationalism.  But in reality, from man's point of view, we have no clue of how God works.   No matter how hard we tried, we cannot understand why   God allows temptations from Satan, and how man would eventually be brought back to God? Isn't there a better way? Why did Jesus have to die on the cross and resurrected in the third day?   Is there a better way for salvation?  Why is tribulation good for us? Why doesn't God render His healing power through a single prayer?  Why do we need to come before God time and time again? Why are there different responses from different people when the Holy Spirit is working: some would speak in tongues, some shiver and others would fall on the ground?   Perhaps we may provide so called "standard answers", but the reality is, "we simply don't know."  But we do know our God is one who performs miracles!  He is not the genie from Aladdin, but He is a God with absolute sovereignty, who works according to His will and goodness. I recall a speaker once defined God's sovereignty as, "God sovereignty is: He is God and you are not!" Hallelujah! This is just that simple - He is God and we are not!  Brothers and sisters, we need to submit fully to Him, otherwise we will be forever asking: "Why, God?"   When I learned to write Chinese characters with a computer, I learned the easiest method of input, because my secretary told me, "this way you only need to input the first and the last strokes, a number of characters will be listed for you to choose." It seemed easy at first, but in reality I encountered many difficulties because my first stroke was quite different from that of the computer, and I could not find the characters I wanted!  Initially I was mad at the computer, but later I realized it was laughable because I recognize my logic is quite different from that of the computer. Similarly, when we come before our God, we do not understand how He works, and as a result we are trapped in our own logics running into a dead end.  Therefore, we should surrender to our Lord, and as we recognize that He is the God of all miracles, His grace will then come upon us.                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, we submit completely before you because you are the God of miracles. We welcome you into our lives and work according to your will and time so that we may be filled with your grace. With thanks we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 9:13-25

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 9: 13-25   They brought to the Pharisees the man who had been blind.  Now the day on which Jesus had made the mud and opened the man's eyes was a Sabbath.  Therefore the Pharisees also asked him how he had received his sight.  "He put mud on my eyes," the man replied,, "and I washed , and now I see." A second time they summoned the man who had been blind.  "Give glory to God," they said "We know this man is a sinner."  He replied, "Whether this man is a sinner or not, I don't know.  One thing I do know. I was blind but now I see!"   In this passage, the Pharisees had asked this blind man a lot of questions. They were trying to find a way to make Jesus submit into their own principle. But every time, the answers they received were, "I don't know." "How were you able to see." "I don't know." "Where is this man from." "I don't know." "Is he sent from God."   "I don't know." "Whether this man is a sinner or not, I don't know.  One thing I do know  I was blind but now I see!"  Hallelujah!   To the Pharisees experience, doctrines, traditions and laws are important. They wanted to place God within their own rules which they can understand and accept.  Yet, Jesus came with genuine love and mercy that touched all who are in need.  Brothers and sisters, if you do not understand the heart and mercy of our Lord, you would never know the work of God in the Bible nor would you know how the spirit of God works in His disciples.   In reality, not only did the Pharisees exist in the time of Jesus, they are also present in the churches today, and, perhaps, even in our hearts.  Whenever we try to limit the work of God because of our own experience, we have fallen into the situation like the Pharisees.  Many have put restrains on God's work with so call "being spiritual", or "following the traditions", and even quoted His own words limiting God's work as a result.  But in fact, God's spirit works freely in our hearts so that His name be glorified.   Let us learn to open up ourselves, forsake the spirit of the Pharisees, so that we may welcome the new work of the Holy Spirit; taking away the old and everything becomes new again!                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, we praise you for you are God who does new work. We welcome your presence in our lives to perform this new work so that your desires and goodness will be fulfilled.  With thanks we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 9:5-12

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 9:5-12   While I am in the world, I am the light of the world." After saying this, he spit on the ground, made some mud with the saliva, and put it on the man's eyes. "Go," he told him, "wash in the Pool of Siloam" (this word means "Sent"). So the man went and washed, and came home seeing.....                  God is full of grace and mercy, willing to heal us, but people may not comprehend God's method and timing. After making the great "I am the light of the world" proclamation in verse 5, in verse 6 the Lord suddenly spit on the ground. I think many people would have a hard time getting through it all. How inappropriate! Not just saliva, but saliva and mud, how can one accept it? Sometimes we have difficulties understanding why the Lord Jesus would use such method; aren't there better ways? Brothers and sisters, there is no need to ask why because God has absolute sovereignty.                  People would want to control, to generalize the many ways to find the principles or laws, but God would seldom act in conventional ways. In the bible, the Lord healed the blind men three times doing it differently each time. The first in John 9:7, using saliva and mud and put it on the man's eyes, sending him to wash in the Pool of Siloam; the second in Mark 8:23, the Lord spit and put saliva on the man's eyes and he would see immediately; the third in Luke 18:42, the Lord proclaimed, "Receive your sight." The man would see right away. The Lord Jesus did it differently each time. People would always want to analyze and formulate some principles, but God would never do things the same way.                  Why wouldn't God do things the same way? It's because of human weakness. Once we have the rules, our hearts would not look at God; rather we would seek people, laws, and the so-called "sacred objects". On the other hand, we would legalize the rules to lord over people: "it must be this way, otherwise there is no healing and it's not spiritual." The church has too many traditions and laws having the original intent to help people but instead they become their bondage, suffocating them. The Lord rarely condemned the sinners, he even got close to them, but he rebuked the Pharisees, because they sanctioned and legalized God. Ask God to help us, let us open our hearts readily to receive God's grace. No matter how God would come to us, let us receive in full with joy, God's grace will come upon us!                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, may you open our hearts again to purely receive your grace. Let us also surrender under your sovereignty, do us great things according to your wonderful ways. We pray and give thanks in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 9:1-4

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 9:1-4   As he went along, he saw a man blind from birth. His disciples asked him, "Rabbi, who sinned, this man or his parents, that he was born blind?" "Neither this man nor his parents sinned," said Jesus, "but this happened so that the works of God might be displayed in him. As long as it is day, we must do the works of him who sent me. Night is coming, when no one can work."                  Jesus met a man blind from birth as he was leaving the temple. His disciples were curious, "Who sinned, this man or his parents?" People freely associate sickness and sin; even when performing healing prayers, we readily put the burden of getting healed on the intercessor, putting a lot of pressure on ourselves as we feel only the holy or people very intimate with God can effectively pray for the sick. Therefore many people dare not to lay hands praying for other people as they worry about losing face due to the lack of results.                  Not only that, we often put the burden of getting healed on the people that we pray for. Just as it says here, "who sinned?" thus we often asked the sick to confess their sins in prayers. Of course some sicknesses come from sins, but not every sickness is due to sin. Some people own strong condemning spirit, they would feel that if the sick did not get healed, either they have yet to realize their sins or they lack enough faith to ask for God's mercy.   We put the burden of getting healed on the people that we pray for.  In reality, we have to understand God's absolute sovereignty over the matter of healing; His intention is to show His mercy in human injustice and misery. The healing evangelist Benny Hinn once said, "In fact we cannot do anything, we just receive God's given grace to us. During the "Light Therapy" treatment, the doctors would simply tell you to lie in the sun to receive the healing power of sunlight."   The same happens before God. Malachi 4:2 mentioned the healing power of God's light, when we come before God; open ourselves to receive, the spirit of God will move freely among us. He has absolute authority to do the work of healing, even though sometimes he chooses not to heal, but God's love would still touch us. Brothers and sisters, the Lord is so willing to work, he is so willing to give us his grace, he is so willing to heal us, let us work with God with simple faith, come before Him to receive his grace                              Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Holy Spirit, may you lay your hands on the wounds of the brothers and sisters, bring forth the power of resurrection of Jesus Christ, bring full healing to their lives and bodies. All glories to you! We pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 8:51-59

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 8:51-59   "Very truly I tell you, whoever obeys my word will never see death." .... "Very truly I tell you," Jesus answered, "before Abraham was born, I am!".....                  The Lord Jesus said here, "before Abraham was born, I am!" It greatly confused the Jews then, yet Jesus said he already exists before his incarnation, He is the "I am who I am" God, not only He is "I am who I am", whoever obeys his words will never see death. The death here is not the death of the flesh. People live in sin and they will die as a consequence of sin; our flesh will perish.                  The more important death is the spiritual death. People would fall into sin and die in transgressions if they do not follow Jesus. But if we turn back to the lord, accept Jesus as our personal saviors, just like Jesus said, "whoever obeys my word", when we obey God's words, His life is in power with us. When we welcome this I am who I am God in us, we'll have the eternal life, because our spiritual life and god's are connected together, we receive this eternal life such that we can live forever with our Lord, no more limited by physical death.                  Brothers and sisters, although we'll see death, we are not afraid because death is not final. Physical death is just our rest against the toil of this world, but the lives of our lord and us are joined forever, this is our hope in Jesus Christ. When we live in this world, we need to hope for this eternal, victorious life, we have strength to walk with the Lord daily because of this hope. Do you have this hope today? If you have this hope, you have to depend on God daily to live a joyful life. If you do not have such hope, you need to ask the Lord to reward you this eternal life, remove your sins, let the power of Jesus Christ come into your life!                               Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you because in you there is eternal life, when we accept you as our personal savior, we also have eternal life inside. Let us follow you because of this hope. We pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 8:42-50

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 8:42-50   ....You belong to your father, the devil, and you want to carry out your father's desires. He was a murderer from the beginning, not holding to the truth, for there is no truth in him. When he lies, he speaks his native language, for he is a liar and the father of lies.....   The Lord clearly says here that the devil is the father of lies. The most deadly work of the enemy in our life is to deceive us, to make us not know God's faithfulness and how precious we are before God. When the enemy tempted Jesus by saying, "If you are the Son of God", it is very clear and obvious that Jesus is the Son of God. However, Satan used especially the tricks of temptations and lies to tell him, "You haven't figured it out yet, you might not be the most beloved Son of God! If you are, why do you need to experience so much of this suffering on earth?" How many times Satan uses this kind of lies in our lives! Not only does Satan tries to work deceit on Jesus, but he often deceives us as well.   When the devil tempted Eve, he said to her, "Do you know why God didn't let you eat the fruit from the tree of good and evil? It is because when you eat from it, you will be like God."  All of a sudden, Satan caused doubt to be produced in Eve's heart, "Could it be that God hasn't given me the best? Why it seems that God has kept something valuable from me? Why God didn't let me eat the fruit from the tree of good and evil if it is really so precious?" We see that suspicion was also produced in Eve's heart, so that she was not able to fully depend on God with all her heart and soul.   Brothers and sisters, the enemy is deceiving us now in the same exact way. Many times, he just makes us see our own weaknesses and unworthiness, and even how useless is it to continue praying and seeking God. Also Satan often deceives us, so that we think that God doesn't love us enough. Therefore, we are not able to fully rely on God with all our heart and soul. The result is that we go astray, doing things our own ways and without thinking. All this is because we fall into the trap of the devil and is deceived by him. Yet, we do not know that all of God's truths and promises are made for our good. Even though we truly are not worthy, but through the precious blood of Jesus Christ, we can have victory over the enemy, because every believer in the Lord is so precious in God's sight! The Bible says, "He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?" May God help us rebuke all the lies of the enemy in our life, so we can enter into the rich abundance God has prepared for us!                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because you have given me abundant grace. By the victorious name of Jesus Christ, I rebuke all the lies of the devil! May the Holy Spirit renew my life once again. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 8:31-41

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 8:31-41   To the Jews who had believed him, Jesus said, "If you hold to my teaching, you are really my disciples. Then you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free."....   The Lord says here, "you will know the truth, and the truth will set you free." The Jews at that time still could not understand these words. They thought, "Who says that we have ever been slaves? We have never been slaves of anyone!" Yet, they did not understand that when a person leaves God, he is living in sin, and has become a slave to sin. Whenever we are living in sin, our life will lack true joy and satisfaction.   The enemy often uses very small things to steal the joy and peace from our hearts. I remember one time after a church meeting, I was really joyful because during the meeting God's presence had been with the brothers and sisters in a mighty way. While driving home that evening, the whole family was singing joyfully. Unexpectedly, the car broke down in the middle of the way home. The car wouldn't start no matter what we did. Suddenly, my heart started to get a lot of resentment: "O God, why didn't you watch over me? We were almost home. Why didn't you use your mighty arms to keep this car going until we get home?" Instantly, all the joy from the meeting evaporated! Only because the car had broken down on the road!   At that moment, God's Spirit reminds me, "Why do I allow a small thing to take away God's joy from my heart?" Suddenly I realized: in Christ, we are free! No matter the situation, our hearts are still free, we can still be victorious through the Lord! Hallelujah! Therefore, I told the kids, "Let us praise God, for God is with us!" After that the whole family got out of the car, preparing to walk home. Unexpectedly, soon afterwards another car came by and asked us if we needed a ride. Hallelujah! We did not let the car breaking down on the road affect the joy in our hearts! The enemy often uses the little things in life to steal our peace, joy, and satisfaction. But in reality, the truth can set you free, so that you don't have to live in bondage to sin and emotion. You can have victory over the enemy every day through the Lord!                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you. Because of you I have the right to victory! No matter how the enemy attacks me, I am more than conquerors through you! May the Holy Spirit help me to stand on the foundation of your word and have victory over the enemy every day! I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 8:21-30

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 8:21-30   Once more Jesus said to them, "I am going away, and you will look for me, and you will die in your sin. Where I go, you cannot come."  This made the Jews ask, "Will he kill himself? Is that why he says, 'Where I go, you cannot come'?"  But he continued, "You are from below; I am from above. You are of this world; I am not of this world. I told you that you would die in your sins; if you do not believe that I am he, you will indeed die in your sins."...   Sometimes the conversations between Jesus and the Jews seem to be disconnected.  Jesus most often talked about things in spiritual context, while the Jews would try to understand them in physical context.  When Jesus talked about death in this passage, He wasn't talking about physical death, but spiritual death.  God had instructed Adam and Eve not to eat the fruit on the tree of good and evil in the Garden of Eden, because they will surely die once they eat it.  After Adam and Eve ate the fruit, they didn't die physically, but they were dead spiritually, because their relationship with God was severed.  Therefore, even though Adam and Even stayed alive, their life inside was cut off from God's life.  In the same way, if our life is not connected to God's life, even if we are alive on the outside, our spiritual life could still be dead.   When we come before God, we ask that God shine His light upon us, so that we will be able to see the true spiritual condition inside us and how much we need Him.  We would then truly understand why we need the salvation of Jesus Christ.  When you clearly know that you are dead in sin, and that Jesus Christ was lifted up for us to become the savior for human beings, we may once again look upon Jesus and welcome His precious blood to cleanse all our sins.   Brothers and sisters, let us truly understand this question of life and death, and once again be willing to let Jesus Christ be our savior.  Let Him be the Lord of our life, and let Him guide us to follow Him and look upon Him.  Let the grace of Jesus Christ continue to flow so that God's name will receive the greatest glory in us!                              Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you because you've given us grace and mercy.  We were dead in sin in the past, but now we may receive new life because of the resurrection of Jesus Christ.  May the Holy Spirit guide us to walk in your light.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!