Today's Passage - John 16:12-13

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 16:12-13   "...I have much more to say to you, more than you can now bear. But when he, the Spirit of truth, comes, he will guide you into all the truth.  He will not speak on his own; he will speak only what he hears, and he will tell you what is yet to come."    Holy Spirit has one other mission in the world - To guide us into all the truth.  "Into" all the truth means to experience truth in life.  In other word, Holy Spirit doesn't just want us to understand all of God's truth in our head, but He wants to lead us to actually experience God's truth!  Many people merely read the text of God's word and feel bored, and no wonder some people say that reading the Bible is like chewing peanuts; not only it's hard to chew, it's also hard to digest after it's swallowed.   We need to ask the Holy Spirit to shine upon us, let God's word become the lamp to our feet and light to our path.  Some said that Holy Spirit is like a rice cooker; He can cook the word of God from raw rice to cooked rice, so that when we eat it we gain energy and nourishment!  We must welcome Holy Spirit to turn God's word into rice that we can eat, so that our life will naturally be nourished and continue to grow.  Even though the Bible is entirely God's word, not all text are what God wants to speak to you today.  That's why when I read the scripture, I often start with this prayer: "Lord, please give me a word, and let that word become strength for me today."   Many years ago I moved from East Coast to West Coast, and we decided to drive our car to the West Coast and I planned a two-week trip.  Two days before we left, I found the car had some issue with electrical system, and even the repair shop couldn't find the problem.  The night before we left, I pray to God: "Lord, you must give me the confirmation of a word, so that I can safely drive to the West Coast.  Give me a word so that there'll be peace in my heart."  God then gave me a scripture passage - Joshua 4:23 - where He said "or 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 Seawhen he dried it up before us until we had crossed over."  This passage became the source of my strength for those two weeks.  Every day when I drive, I pray to God: "Lord, I thank you because you are waiting before me, hallelujah!"  The Lord kept us safe with this word till we reached West Coast.   Brothers and sisters, you also need a word from the Lord!  We need to seek God in our daily life, so let God's Spirit bring us into the truth of God and experience the power from the word of God!  May God's Spirit give us an eager heart, so that we don't just read God's word casually, but to seek His word and let His word from our strength and help!                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please give us a word so that we may regain strength by your word, and give us your guidance so that we know where to go today.  Lord, we come before you to listen to you quietly, so please speak to us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!