Today's Passage - Galatians 6:11-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 6:11-14     ... Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.    In the early church, they often forced the Gentiles to be circumcised. This was not because of the Law and not because it was for God's purposes, but it was to satisfy their own selfish ego. In the church there are many traditions which they force people to follow not because they are for people's spiritual growth or for church growth, but rather these are to satisfy their own self-image. Paul mentions here that what we boast in is Jesus Christ and him crucified and being crucified with Christ. This includes our old self and the desire to satisfy our own wishes, which are all to be crucified on the cross. No longer do things have to be according to the wishes of our own hearts. Rather we solely desire that God's will be done.     When we lead others, do we boast that they are following our ways of doing things? Or is this person truly living in the presence of God? To preach denominational teachings is very easy. When you chat with someone, you can know from the conversation if he is a Presbyterian, or a Baptist, or from the Local church. Yet to preach "Emmanuel", God is with us, is rather so difficult. What we see is the outward appearance of people, which emphasizes the methods of man, yet it fails to bring people before God to enjoy his presence and truthfulness.    If we are boasting in traditions and denominational teachings, then we are leading people on a path of death. If we are emphasizing a vibrant life, then we will bring people to the presence of Jesus Christ. We need to seriously ask ourselves, in our entire faith practices, and in our entire church, when we do something, what is the reason we do it? I find that in the church people often don't ask this question. Yet when we carefully think about the reason why we do things this way, we will discover that in reality the reason we do many things is just because the people before us did it this way, yet there is no real spiritual meaning in it and there is no real spiritual need for it. May God have mercy on us to truly face our own faith practices and help us to know what is from man and what is from God. If it is from man, may God give us a bearing heart to accept one another. If it is from God, then it is an unchanging truth.                                                                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because your word gives me freedom. Lord, please forgive me for often to satisfy myself I ignored your will. Lord, please let me boast not in man's traditions, but in your works. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Galatians 6:6-10

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 6: 6-10    "Let the one who is taught the word share all good things with the one who teaches. Do not be deceived: God is not mocked, for whatever one sows, that will he also reap. For the one who sows to his own flesh will from the flesh reap corruption, but the one who sows to the Spirit will from the Spirit reap eternal life. And let us not grow weary of doing good, for in due season we will reap, if we do not give up. So then, as we have opportunity, let us do good to everyone, and especially to those who are of the household of faith."                  One who sows the world will also reap the world, if one sows the spiritual life, then one will also reap the spiritual life, do you know about this unchanging principle? Sometimes when you make ten statements, you'll find that the one containing the world is the one that people will remember, and it will bring about worldly responses. "Of the world" is "Listen to me"; the conflicts between the parent and the children are often of the flesh, and this worldly conflict is also the cause of broken relationships among people.                  In fact the world cannot complete God's righteousness, it can only satisfy people's feeling, and it cannot do God's work. Ask God to help us set aside the worldly arguments, and come before Him with a humble heart. If what we sow is the spiritual life, then we'll reap the spiritual life. No wonder it's said in the Proverbs, "A gentle answer turns away wrath", you sow wrath and you'll reap wrath, when you sow the humble and gentle heart, it will not only make yourself free from wrath, it will also turn away wrath of the others.                  We need spiritual wisdom to face life, let us sow forgiveness every day to overcome the resentment of not forgiving others. Ask God to help us sow love so people can feel the warmth in the dark days. Ask God to help us sow happiness so we can face and overcome the burdens with a cheerful heart regardless of the situations. Ask God to help us also sow meekness; for the bible says the meek will inherit the earth; the reason that you often seek but do not find is the lack meekness in you. Ask God to help us follow God's will to do good every day, to face brothers and sisters and family members, so we can receive God's unsurpassed abundance.                                                                              Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you for your precious words, ask God to forgive us acting out of desires and the flesh, thus missing your abundance. May you open our hearts, and let the Spirit sow fruit in our lives. We give thanks and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen.

Today's Passage - Galatians 6:1-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 6: 1-5    "Brothers, if anyone is caught in any transgression, you who are spiritual should restore him in a spirit of gentleness. Keep watch on yourself, lest you too be tempted. Bear one another's burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ......"                  It's very easy to either condemn or rebuke the brothers and sisters in church when they stumble into sin; ask God to help us learn His principles, not to act according to the flesh. If we consider ourselves "spiritual", we need to restore brothers and sisters in a spirit of gentleness. The spirit of gentleness is to empathize with the weakness of human nature, while not agreeing to the sinful acts. In fact, Jesus came to this world to finish this work; he became the likeness of man for our sake, through all the suffering in the world, empathized with the weakness of our flesh, so this is the spirit of gentleness. If we go and condemn another person instead of empathizing with his weakness, then we only consider he is weak and I am strong; but once we get in touch with another person with a spirit of gentleness, then it truly empathizes with his weakness.                  When brothers and sisters are weak, we need to treat them as a family. If the same thing happened to the church and one of them is your family member and the other is a newcomer to the church not knowing anyone, then you'll find entirely different reactions to these two people. The new believer who has just come to the church may probably be criticized mercilessly; but if this is a brother or sister, then we are family, and we'll comfort him, "we all have weakness, no problem!" Ask God to let us keep this we're family attitude, use the spirit of gentleness to treat others.                  Next, we need to restore them; a spirit of gentleness does not mean ignoring the other's sins, we still need to be faithful to the truth and bring them before the Lord. In this warped and crooked generation, on one hand there is love, on the other hand we need to be faithful to the truth, not condoning sins. Yet we have to empathize with people's weaknesses, and bring them before God. When helping and supporting the weak brother and sisters, ask God to let us not be tempted, not being dragged into sin. Ask God to give us wisdom and power, restore the weak brothers and sisters with a spirit of gentleness, and let us be of one mind moving forward.                                                                               Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you for restoring us with your gentleness. We also want to learn to restore brothers and sisters who are weak in the flesh with the spirit of gentleness, while bringing them before you in truth, please give us wisdom and power. We give thanks and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Galatians 5:22-26

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 5: 22-26     "But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, self-control; against such things there is no law. And those who belong to Christ Jesus have crucified the flesh with its passions and desires.  If we live by the Spirit, let us also keep in step with the Spirit. Let us not become conceited, provoking one another, envying one another."                 Since these nine kinds of fruit are of the Spirit, it means they don't live out of natural lives. The fruit of love - Some people are compassionate, eager to help others, but it's simply their natural personalities and they would be unhappy if told not to do so; but this is different from the "fruit of love" mentioned in the bible. The love that is fruit of the Spirit is your willingness to pray for the people who persecute you, and to love your enemies. This love is not from people, not lived out by human nature, but in Christ, we can love the enemies, pray for the ones that persecute us, this is the fruit of the Spirit.                  The fruit of joy - it's not about the innate happy-go-lucky type, but having joy in adversity and trials, even the unspeakable glorious joy untenable of human nature. The fruit of peace - it's not affability with everyone, but the reconciliation mentioned in the bible, being able to forgive each other even though they were enemies in the past, and confessing their own sins. This is the fruit of the Spirit that people reconciled with each other and with God. The fruit of patience - it's not the mild mannerism; there is a limit to people's patience that one can only endure until the last straw. But the patience given by the Spirit can give people hope to face the road ahead of them with confidence.                  The fruit of kindness - it's not vengeance; and it's love full of kindness. The fruit of goodness - the fruit of the Spirit must have a perfect and good motive. The fruit of faithfulness - faithfulness is trustworthy, and man's faithfulness cannot compare to God's faithfulness. Man's faithfulness is conditional, only God's faithfulness does not come with any conditions and God is absolutely trustworthy. The fruit of gentleness - it's not the patsies that people think about, it is principle-driven, Jesus is a gentle person, but his gentleness is principle-driven. The fruit of self-control - it's not indulgence, the work of the Spirit is certainly not to gratify the desires of the flesh, there is joy and real freedom in self-control.                  We need the fruit of the Spirit to follow God; our natural lives can live up to none of these fruit. We need to welcome the Spirit working in our lives in power.                                                                             Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, may the Spirit work in our lives, prepare and mold us, so we can bear your fruit, not living by our flesh, yet testifying your glory in our lives. We give thanks and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Galatians 5:16-21

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 5: 16-21    So I say, walk by the Spirit, and you will not gratify the desires of the flesh.   For the flesh desires what is contrary to the Spirit, and the Spirit what is contrary to the flesh. They are in conflict with each other, so that you are not to do whatever you want.   But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law. The acts of the flesh are obvious: sexual immorality, impurity and debauchery;  idolatry and witchcraft; hatred, discord, jealousy, fits of rage, selfish ambition, dissensions, factions  and envy; drunkenness, orgies, and the like. I warn you, as I did before, that those who live like this will not inherit the kingdom of God.    Paul related his own experience: " What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this body of death." It was all because he did not understand what he wanted to do he did not do, but did what he hated to do instead.  This is a warfare between our spirit and flesh.  The indulgence of our flesh inside us prevents us from following the guidance of the Holy Spirit and as a result, we are trapped in sin and struggle in our hearts without any peace   How do we follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit?  We learn to listen to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives. The Bible tells us not to grieve the Holy Spirit.  If we do not feel comfortable about our words, actions or behaviors, this is when the Holy Spirit is rebuking us, and we should be sensitive to His voice and follow His guidance.  If we try to resist instead, we often discover the guidance of the Holy Spirit fades away gradually. With  a heart of meekness and humility as we  respond to the Holy Spirit according to His guidance, His voice will become more succinct  The Holy Spirit responds in our hearts with a "yes", "no" or sometimes " wait";  but is anyone of these instructions easy to follow? In reality, they are all not that easy as we are afraid to move forward if it is a "yes", and asked why if it is a "no", and we become impatient when asked to "wait"      May the Lord give us a sensitive heart that follows the work of the Holy Spirit.  Abiding in God's will requires the work of the Holy Spirit without which we will be weak. May the Lord help us follow Him and the work of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives and refrain from indulging in our flesh else we would not be inheriting His kingdom as forewarned by God.   May we take heed so that we will glorify His name in whatever we do.                                                                             Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, grant us a sensitive heart so that we can follow You and yield to the voice of the Holy Spirit in our daily lives; avoid the lusts of the flesh; follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit and bear its fruits.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Galatians 5:13-15

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 5:13-15   You, my brothers and sisters, were called to be free. But do not use your freedom to indulge the flesh; rather, serve one another humbly in love.   For the entire law is fulfilled in keeping this one command: "Love your neighbor as yourself." If you bite and devour each other, watch out or you will be destroyed by each other.   Someone says that if the blood of Christ can wipe away all sins; why can't we commit sins and then asked for forgiveness - why can't we live in this cycle of sin and forgiveness?  In reality, if a person truly repents in Christ, he would never fall into this cycle as he would despise and forsake sins and does not want to fall into its trap even as Jesus' blood can cleanse all sins.  Others may also say since we are no longer under the retrains of the law, we can do anything we wish.  In fact, there are four basic principles to Christian livings: freedom, testimonies, love and the work of the Holy Spirit. Even though we are totally free in Christ, we should not forget about bearing testimonies, and the need for self-examination to see if our actions glorify God.  If they do not, we should refrain from such actions.  For example, can you cheat in your examinations in the name of Jesus?  Of course not, as this is not in tune with His desire. It is important that we examine what we do to see if His name is glorified.   Thirdly, we should have love for those brothers and sisters who are weak in their faith, and refrain from becoming their stumbling block in whatever we do. For this reason Paul specifically talked about eating food offered to idols. Eating sacrificed food, by itself, is "neutral" , but if seen doing so creates an impression of endorsement to idolatry, we should abstain from eating these food without  becoming  scruples to others.  Many years ago when I first became a Pastor,  the mother of a sister who came to U.S.  was bored at home.  I asked if she wanted to watch some video tapes of Taiwan singers.  Her first impression was: "Oh, you even watch these tapes as a Pastor!"  I was rebuked by the Holy Spirit at that time and came to a decision not to watch these tapes anymore for the sake of her faith.  This is not to say that as a pastor, I am restricted from doing a lot of things others can normally do, rather this is a principle of how the Holy Spirit works.  On the other hand, we should follow the guidance of the Holy Spirit out of our love, not because we are being told.  We follow His will because of the move by the Holy Spirit. Following these four principles, we can then lead an active life of victory and glory in His name.                                                                             Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank You for teaching us to behave according to the Bible so that we may glorify Your Holy Name. May Your spirit help us follow you footsteps and lead a life with the strength You have provided to us.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Galatians 5:7-12

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 5: 7-12     You were running a good race. Who cut in on you to keep you from obeying the truth?   That kind of persuasion does not come from the one who calls you.  "A little yeast works through the whole batch of dough."    I am confident in the Lord that you will take no other view. The one who is throwing you into confusion, whoever that may be, will have to pay the penalty.   Brothers and sisters, if I am still preaching circumcision, why am I still being persecuted? In that case the offense of the cross has been abolished.   As for those agitators, I wish they would go the whole way and emasculate themselves!   Why is the cross offensive to some people? Often time, we follow God according to our desires, and why is it necessary for us to confess our sins?  Wouldn't it be terrific if we do not talk about sins?  God wanted us to confess our sins because He is a God of justice and we, as sinners, cannot stand justified in front of Him.  Therefore, we need to confess our sins and receive  the redemption that God has prepared for us in Christ Jesus with humility.  As a result, we are able to come before Him openly without fear.   Why then is our total submission to God necessary? Would it suffice if we give our free offerings to the church as well as being a good person performing good deeds as the Buddhist suggests? In reality, God looks not only to our outward actions, but our total submission to Him also.  Making offerings,  performing good deeds and being  a good person do not really reflect  the changes in  our lives, nor do they represents that we are truly Christians. God demands our total submission to Him and follow Him.    Why do we need to follow His commands?  Would it be sufficient if we just mind our own business and do our own things in this day and age?  In fact, it is His desires that not only we are saved, but perform His will that is preordained for us.  We, therefore, need to come before God and follow His commands so that we no longer walk on our own ways but do what is righteous in His sight so that His glory may be manifested in our lives.    Why do we need to love one another? Wouldn't it be nice if we just mind our own business? In saving us, it is God's desire for us to grow together in Christ, help and be responsible for one another.   May God help us love one another just as Christ loves us, and this is exactly God's desire.  Jesus said your love for one another will prove to the world that you are my disciples. We need to follow Christ not according to our own will but His,  and this is the very nuisance of the cross.  We need to make sacrifice and give up ourselves to fulfill His will.  May God's spirit help us to carry His cross and follow Him from this day onwards.                                                                           Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank You for Your sufferings on our behalves.  May we follow You with a heart to withstand suffering.  Let the cross no longer be a sign of nuisance to us , but a way to glory instead.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Galatians 5:1-6

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 5:1-6    It is for freedom that Christ has set us free. Stand firm, then, and do not let yourselves be burdened again by a yoke of slavery.  Mark my words! I, Paul, tell you that if you let yourselves be circumcised, Christ will be of no value to you at all. Again I declare to every man who lets himself be circumcised that he is obligated to obey the whole law. You who are trying to be justified by the law have been alienated from Christ; you have fallen away from grace. For through the Spirit we eagerly await by faith the righteousness for which we hope. For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor circumcision has any value. The only thing that counts is faith expressing itself through love.     Paul says here that Christ has indeed set us free, therefore we are no longer in bondage to anything. In the early church, "circumcision" exerted considerable bondage over brothers and sisters. However, Paul emphasized once more that "neither circumcision nor uncircumcision has any value". The true value is in depending on the Holy Spirit and awaiting by faith the righteousness for which we hope. In the same way, we need to know that in Christ we have been set free. We don't need to let any circumstance or anything keep us in bondage and stop us from enjoying the true freedom in Christ.     Many years ago when I went out of town to preach, there was a brother from China who came to talk to me after the meeting. He worked in a restaurant and was very unhappy because his boss often gave him mean looks. He wanted to leave America and return back to China. I told him, "Why do you allow your boss' mean looks to affect you? You need to trust in the Lord Jesus and in him there is true freedom. You don't need to be affected by your circumstance, but every day you can depend on Christ to live a joyful life." Afterwards, I went to the airport to go home. Unexpectedly, heavy snow started falling on the way to the airport. When I arrived at the airport, I found there was no seat for me. There were a couple of travelers like me. Immediately, the air was filled with everyone's complaints because we don't know when the plane will depart and even if it departs, we still don't have a seat.     At that moment, God's Spirit reminded me, "Didn't you just say to that person: "Why do you let the circumstance control you? In Christ you have true freedom!" Consequently, I quieted down before the Lord. I went outside to eat something and then came back to wait for the flight. Suddenly, I noticed a Chinese elderly couple beside me who were very anxious, and like me don't have a seat on the flight. I said to them, "Don't worry, I am just like you, when they call us I will let you know." They were very happy when they heard this and repeatedly thanked me and calmly waited for the flight. It was already evening when it was time for us to finally fly. It would be around 2am when I get back to San Jose. Even though I was physically tired, yet my heart was filled with joy. Once again I have experienced not being under bondage to the circumstance because in Jesus there is true freedom. Praise the Lord!                                                                          Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, in Christ we can enjoy true freedom. No matter what circumstances brothers and sisters encounter, may the Spirit of the Lord set them free. May they receive from you true peace, joy, and satisfaction.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!