Today's Passage - John 20:11-18

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 20: 11-18   ....The angel said to her, "Woman, why are you crying?"  "They have taken my Lord away," she said, "and I don't know where they have put him."  At this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not realize that it was Jesus.   He asked her, "Woman, why are you crying? Who is it you are looking for?"  Thinking he was the gardener, she said, "Sir, if you have carried him away, tell me where you have put him, and I will get him."   Jesus said to her, "Mary."  She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, "Rabboni!" (which means "Teacher").   Jesus said, "Do not hold on to me, for I have not yet ascended to the Father. Go instead to my brothers and tell them, 'I am ascending to my Father and your Father, to my God and your God.'"   Mary was trying to find Jesus' body but in vain; then Jesus appeared to her at that moment.  Even though Jesus was standing in front of her, she did not recognize Him. Why couldn't Mary recognize Jesus? Because the resurrected Jesus appeared as a spirit, different from the ordinary people; Mary, therefore, could not recognize Jesus. But amazingly, when Jesus called her name, Mary suddenly came to know this familiar voice.  Filled with sudden warmth in her heart, Mary turned around and shouted, "Teacher!"  I believe Mary was excited and filled with indescribable joy.   Jesus responded instead, "Do not touch me." The original text is actually "do not hold onto me"   Perhaps Mary was calling out in her heart, "Oh Lord, please do not leave me again. Your death has brought us such heartache. Do not leave us again.  Stay with us forever; I want to see you and follow you every day."  Yet Mary could not understand that Jesus had to return to His father, and send the Holy Spirit to this world to be with us.  Jesus, therefore, told Mary, "I have to fulfill God's will.  Do not hold onto me. It is only after I have accomplished God's will, God's heart would be satisfied; people's hearts would also be fulfilled with the coming of the Holy Spirit."   Brothers and sisters, may the Lord help us. Many believe because they wanted to hold onto the belief of Jesus, but overlooked what is truly the kingdom of God. Yes, we wanted the Lord to be with us, but He has his own way and God's will has to be accomplished, not only to our satisfaction, but that all the nations and their people would turn to Him.  Are we being considerate of God's desire?    May the Lord help us so that we can hold on to Jesus closely and follow Him!                                     Pray with Pastor Tong           Help us Lord that we may learn to follow you in our daily livings.  Often times we hold on to you just for our own satisfaction. May the Lord open our hearts so that we may know your desire and follow your footsteps.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 20:1-10

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 20: 1-10   Early in the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw the stone had been removed from the entrance.  So she came running to Simon Peter and the other disciple, the one who Jesus loved, and said, 'They had taken the Lord out of the tomb, and we don't know where they have put him." Peter and the other disciples started for the tomb .....   Frank Morison often listened to Christians relating to him about the resurrection of Jesus. But the more he heard about the story, the more he thought it was unbelievable.  How can people believe such a thing in this scientific age.  Consequently, he decided to search for proofs to ridicule the resurrection of Christ so people would not be fooled. After thirty years of research, he finally published this book:" Who moved the tomb stone?"  Ironically, the heading for the first chapter in his book was, "This is a book that cannot be accomplished."  Why is that so?  His initial intention was to demonstrate the resurrection of Christ is a hoax, but after all the research he did, he could not deny that the resurrection is genuine.    If we read the Bible carefully, we will notice that this could not have been fabricated by the disciples.  It is because even though the Lord had revealed to them many times about His resurrection, His disciples did not believe that Jesus would actually resurrect from the dead.  Therefore, when Mary came to the tomb early in the morning and noticed that the tomb stone was removed, she told the disciples, "They took Jesus' body away and we don't know where they have put him!"   The women and the disciples were all in fear.    When Peter heard about this news, he did not declare happily, "Jesus has risen!", but instead, he was in a state of disbelief.  Thomas reacted similarly and said, "Unless I see the nail marks in his hands and put my fingers where the nails were, and put my hands in his side, I will not believe it."  In reality, these disciples who had followed Jesus faithfully did not expect to see Jesus' resurrection.  If indeed Jesus had not resurrected, they would have led normal lives raising children and lived to old age!  Yet the resurrection of Christ became the turning points of their lives, and as a result, they could not resist from spreading the gospel and bearing testimonies for Christ!   The disciples who were once weak, were now much strengthened, willing to accept persecutions for this truth even to the point of martyrdom! If Jesus had not resurrected, the disciples would not have the courage to bear witness for the Lord! Praise the Lord! Our Lord had indeed risen! He is living today; He walks with me; He talks with me along life's narrow way.  Let us sing praises to this Lord of resurrection!                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you because not only have you died on our behalf, you have also resurrected and brought us hope and new lives.  May we have courage, faith, peace and joy in our daily living.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen

Today's Passage - John 19:38-42

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 19: 38-42                                                         "Later, Joseph of Arimathea asked Pilate for the body of Jesus. Now Joseph was a disciple of Jesus, but secretly because he feared the Jewish leaders. With Pilate's permission, he came and took the body away. He was accompanied by Nicodemus, the man who earlier had visited Jesus at night. Nicodemus brought a mixture of myrrh and aloes, about seventy-five pounds...."                  Two very special disciples of Jesus appeared when he was buried, one was Joseph of Arimathea, the other was Nicodemus; the two persons were secret disciples. Because he was a ruler and a teacher, Nicodemus worried being seen visiting Jesus during the day. What would people say? So he came to see Jesus in stealth and in secret, and asked Jesus the question of being born-again. Here it also says Joseph of Arimathea was a secret disciple because he feared the Jewish leaders. However, those two people decided to leave their secret behind when Jesus died, and openly declared they are disciples of Jesus Christ. Hallelujah!                  Brothers and sisters, how encouraging it is to us! Have you ever been a secret Christian? We dare not to openly display our faith among our friends, relatives and family members, and we dare not to proclaim the gospel of Jesus Christ, because we fear of being ridiculed once people know that we are Christians. Ask the Lord to have mercy on us the more we think about Jesus Christ's salvation, he was flogged, even hung on the cross, so much shame, yet Jesus is ready to bear for us this shame, then why would we only care to save our face and not willing to confess that Jesus Christ is our savior? Lord, help us!                  The two disciples offer us a good example: for an extended time in the past they followed as disciples secretly, but when Jesus died for them, they were ready to come before God to confess their sins, ready to exalt Jesus Christ, and to openly confess that Jesus Christ is their Lord. Now they no longer fear of the shame, because Jesus Christ has taken their shame! Are you willing to live for the Lord this way? If alive, it's living for Christ; if in death, it's for good since we are forever with the Lord. Hallelujah!                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you, because you are the utmost savior. Let our hearts once again feel your touch that we decide to live for you, alive or dead, Christ will be exalted in our bodies. We give thanks and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen.

Today's Passage - John 19:31-37

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 19:31-37    Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down. The soldiers therefore came and broke the legs of the first man who had been crucified with Jesus, and then those of the other.  But when they came to Jesus and found that he was already dead, they did not break his legs. Instead, one of the soldiers pierced Jesus' side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water.....                  When Jesus Christ was crucified, under common sense, death would only come after going through a long painful struggle. Since the Sabbath was near, the Jews wished to take down the bodies before the Sabbath, so they wanted to break those people's legs to hasten their death. But when the soldiers came to Jesus, they found that he was already dead, so they pierced his side with a spear, bringing a sudden flow of blood and water to verify Jesus was already dead. Yet the death of Jesus Christ is very extraordinary.                  Luke 23 has this description: "... for the sun stopped shining. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.  Jesus called out with a loud voice, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." When he had said this, he breathed his last." Jesus Christ said there, "Father, into your hands I commit my spirit." once he said that he breathed his last; in other words, Jesus Christ is willing to entrust his life to God with his death, once he gave himself in God's hands, the soul left the body, and he breathed his last.                  And it says in Luke 23:47, "The centurion, seeing what had happened, praised God and said, "Surely this was a righteous man."" When the centurion saw the dying scene of Jesus, and heard Him said, "Into your hands I commit my spirit", the centurion realized that Jesus is a righteous man, a man of God; he has such an intimate relationship with God. Even the centurion is very convinced that the death of Jesus is a very extraordinary death.                  Brothers and sisters, when we think of how Jesus Christ was crucified for us, we really need to think once again how great and loving God is! He is willing to bear for us all the shame and suffering of the world, even died on the cross for us. Hallelujah, we cannot fathom this love, let us give thanks and praise him from the depth of our souls.                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you, because you are willing to experience all the suffering of the world for us, even died on the cross. May the lord's spirit help us once again, because you died for us, let us live for your every day. We pray and give thanks in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 19:28-30

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 19: 28-30   Later, knowing that everything had now been finished, and so that Scripture would be fulfilled, Jesus said, "I am thirsty." A jar of wine vinegar was there, so they soaked a sponge in it, put the sponge on a stalk of the hyssop plant, and lifted it to Jesus' lips. When he had received the drink, Jesus said, "It is finished." With that, he bowed his head and gave up his spirit.                  Praise the Lord! When the Lord Jesus was on the cross, he was saying, "It is finished" instead of "it is over"; if a regular person dies, it is really over! But the lord Jesus said "it's finished", because he knows very well that he has fulfilled his purpose in this world, so he said, "it's finished", because salvation is complete, Satan's bondage of sin is shattered because of His precious blood! Hallelujah! Jesus Christ comes into the world with only one purpose; it is to become the sin offering for the sins of the world, to shed his blood, and to redeem people of their sins, such that they can again return to God, and to receive all of God's abundant grace.                  The cross is the symbol of shame and defeat from the human perspective, but Jesus Christ knows very well that this is a symbol of success: He is to rise from the dead, to prove that He has overcome all of Satan's authority, and so Jesus said confidently, "it's finished!" Since Jesus Christ fulfills our salvation on the cross, we sinners can return before God, called as the children of God, and receive God's new life, how precious it is!                  Once I mentioned this bible passage during my preaching when the spirit of God suddenly moved and inspired me, "Yes, the salvation is complete!" In other words, the abundant grace that God readied for us in Jesus Christ can be poured over us! Before due to the obstacles of sins, we cannot receive the full salvation, but once Jesus Christ said, "it's finished", all obstacles are removed! Now we can proclaim, and receive the salvation prepared by God!                  Therefore, we have to proclaim while reading Isaiah 53: "Oh Lord! The punishment that brought us peace was on him, and by his wounds we are healed!" Hallelujah! Praise our God! May the spirit of our God help us, open our eyes to know this truth, and let this truth comes out living in our lives. Since the salvation is complete, all the grace is given to us, let us receive with rejoice!                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, thank you, because of your salvation, we can have peace and be healed! By faith we receive this peace and healing. May your grace of the cross flow inside our bodies and souls. We give thanks and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 19:27

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 19:27    ...and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.    When John hears Jesus' words, "Here is your mother", he then takes Jesus' mother into his home from that time on. The love of the Lord enables us not only to love our own parents, but also to extend our love to other people. The church is actually a big spiritual family. God teaches us not only to care about our own matters, but also to care about the matters of others and to carry each other's burdens. Brothers and sisters, this is such a wonderful blessing that God has given us! However, many believers still seem to be used to a loner's life: when they are blessed, they enjoy it themselves, when they are troubled, they handle it themselves. But this is totally not God's will! Paul in Ephesians tells us to know how high and how wide God's love is together with all the saints.   On the cross, Jesus did not say to Mary, "Take good care and watch out for yourself." Jesus did not say to John, "Be strong and do my work!" Rather, he says, "Women, here is your son." And to John, "Here is your mother." Jesus clearly draws a picture here of a big spiritual family. The church is the household of God. Through the church, the saints can support and help each other, admonish each other, and grow together, so that Christ will receive all the glory.    God's heart is in the church, therefore, you need to put the church and brothers and sisters in your priorities. In the church, we have many different cell groups. However, often we only seek to satisfy our own cell group's needs and lack God's kingdom vision. The bible very clearly tells us, "But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well." May God help us not only to care for the needs of our cell group, but also care for the needs of the church and even more care for the vision of God's kingdom. Let us give thanks to God for the churches all over the world and give thanks to God for all the gospel ministries in the world. Also let us ask God's Spirit to help us truly be able to see God's calling for us is to share and give out the love of the Lord to others.    The love of Jesus is a proactive love. When the Lord Jesus calls the disciples, he proactively calls them, "Come, follow me!" He says to Zacchaeus, "Zacchaeus, come down immediately. I must stay at your house today." Jesus' love is forever a proactive love. May God help us so we don't wait for others to come love us first, but proactively go to love our parents, our children, and our brothers and sisters. The Lord proactively goes to love the people whom God loves, so that we can become the channels of love for God's grace to flow from our loves to the people around us.                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, please help me understand how to proactively love the people around me. Help me to be alert to the needs of the churches, and even more to be a blessing to God's work in all the places. And by your will, may I fulfill your work. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 19:26

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 19:26   When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to her, "Woman, here is your son"...    When Jesus Christ is crucified on the cross, he actually bears great and excruciating pain. Not only is he suffering pain in the flesh, but also is suffering in his soul and spirit. He is bearing God's judgment for the sins of the people in the world. Nevertheless, during his most painful times, he did not think about himself, but rather sees the pain and needs of his earthly mother. He fulfills his role as the Son of Man on earth as he exhausts his last breath. Thus, he says to John, the disciple he loved, "Here is your mother!" and says to Mary, "Woman, here is your son!" He wants to let his disciple take care of his mother.   Brother and sisters, Jesus is truly a person who honors his parents. The Bible says, "Children, obey your parents in the Lord, for this is right."  To "obey" is not to blindly follow, but in the boundary of the Lord's teaching, honor and submit to the parent's leading. When Jesus' parents returned to the holy city to look for Jesus, he says to them, "Didn't you know I had to be in my Father's house?" However, after saying these words, he still listens to his parents, and go back home with them. Jesus understands that as a man, he should fulfill the duty God has originally instituted for man. He should care about his earthly parents' needs and do what pleases them.    Today in our role as children of our parents, do we know we should care about the needs of our parents? Many times, we see our parents as only causing us inconvenience, as too demanding, but don't often think about them from their point of view to satisfy their hearts' desires. Even during Father's Day and Mother's Day when thinking of buying an appropriate gift, we can't come up with an ideas after thinking for a while. In reality, we are not able to completely fulfill their needs, but at the very basic, we can pray for them. When I say pray, I don't mean to skim the surface, quickly mention them, but to spend time before God's presence, deeply pray for them. Because whoever prays this kind of prayer will see and empathize with their needs, and it will lead to true and responsible caring action.    Brothers and sisters, we need to often remember our parents. This generation of parents have gone through many trials, and their heart and spirit are lonely and bitter. As a result people's words and caring are difficult to truly satisfy them. If your parents haven't believed in the Lord, you need to even more deeply and fervently pray for their souls. Theologian Dietrich Bonhoeffer says if you see how frightening God's judgment will be for the person, it is impossible for you not to share the gospel with him. Only the gospel of the Lord can bring our parents true peace, joy, and satisfaction. May God help us, let us begin to pray for our parents, and may God grab a hold of their hearts.                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you. You not only give me grace, but also gladly and willingly give grace to my family. I ask for the personal leading of the Holy Spirit to lead my parents. If they are willing to believe in you, I ask you to help them trust in you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - John 19:25

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english John 19:25   "Near the cross of Jesus stood his mother, his mother's sister, Mary the wife of Clopas, and Mary Magdalene."   When Jesus' mother was standing in front of the cross, she might be reminiscent of the past: bringing of the good tidings to her by the angel; the worship of the wise men when Christ was born; the astonishment of the Pharisees when Jesus preached with authority in the temples; the enormous pride she had for Jesus when He performed miracles in front of His followers!  But now God's time had come that Jesus had to be hung and died on the cross according to God's will; this is such a heart-ache for her! Yet she was willing to entrust her son to God.  Brothers and sisters, as parents ourselves, are we willing to entrust our children to God and be used by Him?     Although we brought up our children looking after their interests, but in reality it is also for our own pride. This is especially true for Chinese as we all want to glorify our ancestors and hope our children will take care of us when we get old. Aren't we doing all these for our own good?  Perhaps you may say, "Well, I am not asking that much!  We only hope that we would not be embarrassed."  Isn't this also for our own good? Brothers and sisters, God give us our children not to live out our lives, but our children are entrusted to us so that we may teach them to live for God.  Do not be fooled by the fact that since you are a Christian and your children would be Christians automatically.  A pastor once said, :"God has only sons and daughters, but no grandsons or granddaughters." We need to bring them to God individually setting up an example for them.    Oscar Smith once said that there are actually five gospels:  Mathew, Mark, Luke, John and the one written by ourselves. Most people read the first four gospels, and yet people around you are reading the last one. Before your children start learning, they are already learning after you regardless good or bad.  As parents, we are anxious to change our children and measure them according to our meter sticks, but ironically, our children are also measuring us the same way!  May I ask how are we, as parents, in the eyes of our children? Or more appropriately, how are we as Christians in their eyes?   May the Lord help us so that we would recognize that our children can see clearly, and that we need to teach them according to God's principles so that they may be steadfast and serve the Lord all through their lives.  Perhaps when Mary stood before the cross thinking what Simon said to her when holding little Jesus, "Your hearts will also be pierced by the sword."  Hearing what Simon told her, I believe Mary would have accepted it willingly so that she would see the glory and the will of God fulfilled in her son! Those of us who are parents, are you willing to offer your children to be used by God?                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, may you bless every one of us as parents so that we are willing to offer our children to be used by you, follow your guidance and teachings so that our children will become the  vessels in your hands.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!