Today's Passage - 2 Timothy 1:6

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 2 Timothy 1:6   For this reason I remind you to fan into flame the gift of God, which is in you through the laying on of my hands.   I once had a born fire with the youth group in a camping trip. After pouring oil onto the wood, we lighted the fire and what a beautiful sight it was.  But after a little while, the fire started to fade as the ashes slowly formed and the fire was never the same again.  The fire was burning strong again after the ashes had been removed and burning amber piled together.   For the fire to remaining burning strong, removal of the ashes is a cumbersome but necessary task.  The same is true to our spiritual lives.  When we begin to experience God, we are like a new fire.  As time goes, we let the fire in our heart slowly cool down.  The fire of many Christians is like a fire fly - bright as it looks but lack the  warmth  when holding in our hands; it cannot start a fire nor can it provide heat - quite lukewarm.  Even though we do not let the fire go cool on purpose, we often overlook the need to remove the ashes.  What appeared to be a pile of strong burning amber initially is now only a feeble fire covered with ashes.    Paul, therefore, suggested that we fan into the flame the gift of God. "Fan" in the original text means to remove the ashes.  When we experience God's blessings, we are constantly reminded to fan our flames and remove the ashes by the help of the Holy Spirit. Christians who store these blessings in the cold are like those having their refrigerators filled with such blessings without knowing they have put a damper on God's blessings.  Never let your hearts cool down, nor should you stop serving God but remain fervent and keep your desire in serving Him.     When praying for gifts in our church, we are praying not for our own good, but for the good of our church asking God for a large measure of gifts so that the fullness of Christ can be manifested.  For we know when Christ returns, He does not want to see a handicapped and an unhealthy church, but a church that is victorious, glorious and vibrant.  This is often our fervent prayers asking to receive this gift from God, and a desire to serve our brothers and sisters with submission.   The more you serve, the more your heart will be "burning" for our Lord!                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you for all these different gifts and blessings.  We have often allowed ashes to pile up in our lives; we pray that you will once again light us up, strengthen us and renew our zealousness in serving you.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - 2 Timothy 1:3-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 2 Timothy 1:3-5     I thank God, whom I serve, as my ancestors did, with a clear conscience, as night and day I constantly remember you in my prayers. Recalling your tears, I long to see you, so that I may be filled with joy. I am reminded of your sincere faith, which first lived in your grandmother Lois and in your mother Eunice and, I am persuaded, now lives in you also.     Timothy was a main coworker of the apostle Paul and he was greatly used by God in the early church era. For Timothy to believe in the Lord and follow the path of serving the Lord was not only because of the deep influence from his mother, but even more it came originally from his grandmother Lois. This is why parents have such a great influence on their children. Of course parents should not shrink back from their responsibilities. In the family the parents need to be united in teaching the children. Couples often say because of their children's fighting, "Look, this is all because you spoiled the child!" In reality, usually when one parent spoils the child, it is because the other parent lets him do so, thus both sides have the same responsibility. God gave us children, not only to let us enjoy the joys of having children, but even more to give us the responsibility to teach them. Many parents mistakenly think that indulging their children is love and let their children do whatever they want. No wonder there are more and more problems among the youths today.     Once a woman asked Pastor Billy Graham, "Do you think what my child needs is a pat on the back and compliments?" Billy Graham answered, "Sister, it would be better if you can pat heavier." We are not advocating uncompassionate disciplining. But the Bible says, "Discipline your children, for in that there is hope; do not be a willing party to their death." Proper discipline can increase the feeling of security for the children, letting them know where is the boundary and they will have a foundation for their actions.      In reality, most children hope their parents will discipline them. Based on studies, the reason why many children resist discipline is not because of the discipline itself, but it is because the discipline from the parents is not consistent. One day the parent is in a bad mood, so he yells at the child, pointing at this and pointing at that. The next day the parent is in a good mood, and he wants to compensate for the previous day, so he did not care even about serious mistakes committed by the child. We may think this is helping the child. However, the child has an innocent heart and does not understand the parent's heart to want to compensate, so all the child sees are the inconsistent actions. That's why a psychologist once said, "A good rule you can enforce well is better than 25 rules that you can't enforce." May the Lord help us to follow the Lord's teachings to teach our children, so even when they are old they will not go astray.               Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I especially pray for the brothers and sisters who are parents. May the Lord give them wisdom and loving hearts to follow the Lord's teachings to teach their children, so that the children will not stray in their whole life and the whole family will glorify your name. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - 2 Timothy 1:1-2

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 2 Timothy 1:1-2     Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, in keeping with the promise of life that is in Christ Jesus, to Timothy, my dear son: Grace, mercy and peace from God the Father and Christ Jesus our Lord.     Paul mentions his ministry in these verses: First, he is an apostle by the will of God. To become an apostle is not something you can become if you want to, and no one can bestow on a person the title of an apostle. He must be called by God. Unless a person clearly knows his calling is from God, otherwise it is impossible to bear the responsibility of being an apostle. 2 Corinthians says he worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times he received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times he was beaten with rods, once he was pelted with stones. Reading this list we can understand that without God's calling, Paul cannot experience all these things and not lose heart and be discouraged. But rather Paul is filled with hope.     Actually, any person who follows the path of full-time ministry must have God's calling. Having God's calling means this person has confidence and reassurance from God and his heart will be like a blaze of fire, and nothing will hinder him. Understanding God's will and following his will are very important. In pre-marital counseling I will ask both sides whether they clearly know this marriage is God's will. Maybe some people think this is superfluous. But after getting married when they encounter many difficulties, both sides can remember the time when God called and confirmed. So no matter how great the current difficulties are, they can overcome them and courageously move forward.     Next, Paul is an apostle by the promises of the life in Jesus. The Lord's apostle not only must face various labors and toils, but more importantly his heart must have the true motivating power, which is love. A person can have labors and toils, but if he doesn't have love, he can't continue to persevere. Paul not only have God's calling but also is personally someone who meets God face to face. He understands and experienced the love of the Lord. The love of the Lord became the motivating power within him. The promise of Jesus in his heart became his glorious hope. A person who serves the Lord must have experienced the love of the Lord. If on the path of serving the Lord you feel discouraged and lose hope or even feel no one understands you, what you need to do is not to rest, but rather it is to come before the Lord and once again think about his love and let the love of the Lord once again surround you. Only in the love of the Lord you can be renewed again and again. Are you feeling tired and weary? Come back before the face of the Lord!               Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I pray especially for those who are discouraged in serving you. May the love of the Lord surround them. By the victorious name of Jesus, I rebuke the spirit of depression within them. I ask you to touch and renew their heart and spirit and get back to run the race once again. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - 1 Timothy 6:20-21

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 Timothy 6:20-21    "Timothy, guard what has been entrusted to your care. Turn away from godless chatter and the opposing ideas of what is falsely called knowledge, which some have professed and in so doing have departed from the faith. Grace be with you all."                  God gives us all kinds of grace; we need to ask the Lord for His wisdom to guard what has been entrusted to our care. First, we should strive to guard the God-given spiritual life; spiritual life needs nourishment, just like the baby needs nutrients. The spiritual life also needs the feeding of God's words; we often neglect how important it is to read the scripture in our busy lives. Will you stop eating when you are busy at work?  May be skipping one meal, but not for three days without eating. We often care less upon knowing someone who does not read the scripture for three days; no wonder it's hard to grow our spiritual lives. Spiritual life needs irrigation to grow, do not overlook this important thing.                  Next, we shall strive to guard our God-given families. People will become responsible for their own, but rarely would we take responsibilities of our God-given families. Especially when there are disagreements between the husband and wife, and the children are disobedient; we often give up ourselves or wash our hands, neglecting the responsibilities entrusted by God. We should pray for the other half, for the children, until they give in to God, and the family becomes one in the Lord.                  Third, we should guard the resources, time, energy and money entrusted to our care by God. Since everything we own is from God, we should of course use our God-given resources for God. In the bible God gives us clear principle about tithing, that we should offer one-tenth of our income to God. Someone likes to ask, "Is it one-tenth before tax or after tax?" The best answer to this question is: How do you want God to reward you? Besides tithing our money, the same goes for time. How much of your time do you present to God in a week? How much of your energy and wisdom do you offer for God's use? Ask God to help us to guard every deed entrusted to our care by God in our daily lives; when we dedicate ourselves to the Lord, God would use His grace to fill us.              Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please help us, let us read the scripture and pray every day, nourish our spiritual lives. Also pray for our families, let the entire family turn towards you, and help us to devote everything for what you use. With thanks we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - 1 Timothy 6:17-19

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 Timothy 6:17-19    "Command those who are rich in this present world not to be arrogant nor to put their hope in wealth, which is so uncertain, but to put their hope in God, who richly provides us with everything for our enjoyment. Command them to do good, to be rich in good deeds, and to be generous and willing to share. In this way they will lay up treasure for themselves as a firm foundation for the coming age, so that they may take hold of the life that is truly life."                  Paul reminds us not to put our hope in the uncertain wealth; when someone put their hope in wealth, their hearts can no longer have room for the Lord. Don't assume those who put their hope in wealth must be the rich, in fact people with no money also put their hope in wealth; the people who buy lottery, most of them are not rich, but their hearts' desire to get rich are more than the desire for God. A person who put his hope in wealth, wealth becomes the invisible power, taking hold of his heart, and then naturally he'll follow the money and not following God.                  I used to think money is neutral, it all depends how you and I use them. But now I realize there is a power of darkness behind the wealth. It appears on the surface of how we decide how to use money; in fact we unconsciously are under the influence of the power of money. This is why people's worth and stature in the world are usually measured by money; so the power of money keeps on driving us to labor. The strange thing is, no matter how much you earn, it seems that you need to earn more to make ends meet!                  Martin Luther once said, "Christians need three kinds of repentance: repentance of the heart, repentance of the mind, as well as repentance of the wallet!" Though it's not easy, Jesus says, "with man this is impossible, but all things are possible with God." As long as you put your hope in wealth, you cannot escape the bondage of the power of the world. But once you really put your hope in God, trusting that His grace is sufficient for you, and then God can free you from the anxieties, and let you experience His abundant provisions.              Pray with Pastor Tong           In the victorious name of Jesus, unshackle the power of money over the brothers and sisters; let our eyes turn to you again, trusting your abundant provision and guidance. You are our shepherd, we shall not want. With thanks we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - 1 Timothy 6:13-16

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english 1 Timothy 6:13-16    "....... which God will bring about in his own time-God, the blessed and only Ruler, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone is immortal and who lives in unapproachable light, whom no one has seen or can see. To him be honor and might forever. Amen."                  Paul presents the God what we believe is this: First, He is the only true God. The first of the Ten Commandments is "besides me, there is no other God." The true God creates humankind but humans create false gods; many gods are only carvings of human hands, or fabrications of human minds, and are not true gods. The true god is the god of creation, the sovereign God, and the God beyond reasoning. He is not created for the sake of people's needs, rather people are created for the glory of God, and only He is God.                  Next, He is the sovereign, almighty God, His name is the "King of kings and Lord of lords", He is the only Ruler. The bible says His name is above all names; His authority is above all things of the universe, and all things bow at His feet. He is the master of all things; even the fish in the sea, donkeys of the land must obey God. So Jonah was three days in the belly of the fish; God also send the donkey to speak to the prophet Balaam, so our God is the master of authority.                  Third, He is the immortal God, everlasting master. People will decay, also must undergo death, but the God that we believe overcomes death; Jesus resurrects three days after his death is the best proof. He overcomes the realm of the dead, this is a very precious truth, such that we know death is not the end of everything, there is eternal life after death, we can stay together with our life-giving Lord forever. On the other hand, this is also a warning to the non-believers; it's eternal death after the death of the flesh. The bible depicts that scene where not only the fire is not quenched and the worms do not die, it does not begin to describe the terrible prospect of God's judgment. If you have yet to receive Jesus Christ as savior, you need to think warily your life after death, is it to enjoy the everlasting life in God's presence? Or is it to fall into the judgment of the eternal death?                  Finally, He is also a hidden God, not seen by the human eyes, but a very real god. The bible says, although he is hidden, he watches in secret to reward those who seek him. Everything we do for God is not in vain, God will reward us in accordance to the deeds. He is also a God of retribution; we must bear the consequence of sins. Do you know the God that you believe? Ask God to open our eyes to exalt and fear Him!          Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you, for you are the one true God, master of all things, you are the immortal God, and also the hidden God. You watch in secret and you also reward us; let us know how to exalt and fear you in our lives. With thanks we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - 1 Timothy 6:11-12

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english I Timothty 6:11-12   But you, man of God, flee from all this, and pursue righteousness, godliness, faith, love, endurance and gentleness.  Fight the good fight of the faith. Take hold of the eternal life to which you were called when you made your good confession in the presence of many witnesses.   "Fight  the good fight" refers not to the argument of knowledge, but  a testimony of life which requires  serious work  to accomplish.  Sanctification can never be accomplished overnight.  Although salvation and a new life can be achieved instantaneously, but sanctification is a life-long process.  Paul provided 2 verbs here, " flee" and "pursue"; the former denotes   a passive defense , while the latter refers to an active action.  We need to avoid the temptation of our own lusts in our daily lives.    A brother once gave a testimony that he found his secretary to be very attractive one day, and was filled with lustful thoughts, the first of which lasted only  a second or so, then the second one lasted 2-3 seconds; this thought pretty much took over his mind  the third day and when he finalized realized that was a spiritual war, he immediately rebuked that  this thoughts to depart from him in the name of the Lord and succeeded.  Isn't warfare like this we are facing everyday in our lives?  Martin Luther illustrated correctly, "Perhaps we cannot forbid the birds from flying over our heads, but we can certainly prevent them from nesting over our heads."  The thoughts of lusts may not be prevented, but we can surely forbid these thoughts to linger in our minds.   Not only should be passively stay away from such thoughts, we should be actively pursue righteousness, godliness, faithfulness, love , endurance and gentleness for these are all from God.  Besides coming before Him daily, we should, instead, asked to be filled with the Holy Spirit as well as the goodness and the life of Jesus.   We often feel that we should forsake our old lives first   before the new ones can come in.  In reality, we should first ask that our lives be filled by Him and during this process, our old lives would naturally be removed slowly.  A  cup filled with air initially  will naturally be displaced by water.  In the same token, we need to ask to be filled with God's spirit first so that we no longer live in the darkness of our past, but living out the desire of God in our lives.         Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, may your Holy Spirit fill our lives with righteousness, kindness, perseverance, and mercy, so that we are no longer belong in our old flesh but renewed with your  m glorious testimonies every day.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - 1 Timothy 6:9-10

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english I Timothy 6: 9-10   People who want to get rich fall into temptation and a trap and into many foolish and harmful desires that plunge men into ruin and destruction.   For the love of money is a root of all kinds of evil. Some people, eager for money, have wandered from the faith and pierced themselves with many grief.   There is nothing wrong with money itself. In the "Parable of the  talents " Jesus  indicated that  he who received 5 talents made 5 talents more; the one who received 2 talents, made 2 more, but the one who was given 1 talent returned with the same amount.  From our view point, we may feel the one who returned the same amount given was pretty faithful, but the Lord called him a wicked and slothful servant instead!  It is quite apparent the definition of "being faithful" according to God involves earning a return upon what is given.  God wants us to make a good return from what He has given us.  Therefore, it is not wrong for somebody making a fortune; but for one whose only goal is to make money and doing it by any means  such as telling a small lie, misrepresenting a lower quality merchandise as the top of the line product  or taking a short cut,  like bribing, these may seem  normal to him.  For the sake of reaching his goal, he may even sell out his friends or relatives.    Is making a fortune worth the price you are paying?  In an old Chinese saying, "Money can do anything; it can even make a ghost push the grain grinder." In reality, you may be the one pushing the grinder!  Nine out of ten wealthy people are not happy because although they may be able to buy the most comfortable beds, they cannot buy peaceful sleeps; they may be able to  afford the most expensive delicacies,  but not a good appetite; or perhaps the most beautiful house, but not  a happy family and the best insurance policy but not the peace of mind.  Money often leads us astray and makes us miserable - what a horrible truth.    In that case, shouldn't we even try to become wealthy?  That is not the point as the real questions is: Who is your Lord? Making money or Jesus Himself?  If the former is true, then you will be abandoning the Lord looking for wealth; but if the latter is true, you will be able to resist temptation by trusting the Lord, and be blessed according to His will.  May the Lord help us and instill in us a proper attitude toward money.      Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, free us from this burden and desire of becoming wealthy, but to follow you willingly because there is real peace, joy and fulfillment in you.  May the Lord take away the shackle of money and set us free.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!