Today's Passage - Romans 5:3-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 5 3-5   "Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope. And hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured out into our hearts through the Holy Spirit, who has been given to us."   Joy is the symbol for Christians. We are not only joyful when everything goes on well, but we also glory in our sufferings. Why? Paul gave us three reasons:   First, because suffering produces perseverance. It is not like we cannot tolerate any more. We persevere with hope, because we know God's hand is moving. Once there was a young preacher who ran into great difficulties in his ministry, so he went to visit a spiritual elder and asked for his intercession so that God might bless him with more perseverance. That spiritual elder started to pray for him: "Lord, may you give him more suffering!" That young preacher interrupted upon hearing that: "Not for more suffering, but for more perseverance!" That elder said calmly: "What I prayed for is not wrong, for the Lord says that suffering produces perseverance." When we realized suffering is only the process through which God mold us, we will be able to persevere.   Second, because perseverance produces character. Character is not the same as being cynical. In English the word is character for spiritual character. During perseverance, our character and spirituality will be refined by God until our life is more mature like Jesus Christ. Similarly, a soldier must go through harsh training. West Point in the USA is well known for its training for freshmen. A freshman can only answer "Yes, Sir!" or "No, Sir!" in their response to others, or he will get penalized right away and he cannot argue. As strict as the training is, why are there still many people waiting in line to get in during the annual recruitment? That is because people can see the final product after four years of training and how proud the graduates feel. Likewise, as painful as the suffering during perseverance is, it can bring about the refinement on one's spiritual character, so that we can be in the glorious image of Jesus.   Third, character produces hope that doesn't put us to shame. Praise the Lord! Due to his work on us, we can understand that we are never forsaken. God loves us. The Holy Spirit also pour down the love of Christ into our heart so that we will never feel lonely and scared. By his timing, on the day that the Lord makes, his will then will be done on us. Then we will triumph over the circumstances and the enemies.   Brothers and sisters, are you in the middle of suffering? Don't be discouraged or intimidated. You need to know that the work of the Lord is yet to be fulfilled on you. You are still in God's plan. When the day that God makes comes, you and I will surely shout in joy.                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please bless us with the spirit of hope in our heart. Whenever we are in a hopeless situation, we can still be hopeful because of you, for you are not only our savior, but also the builder of our characters till the end. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 5:1-2

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 5:1-2   "Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, wehave peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And weboast in the hope of the glory of God." Being justified through faith is the grace we receive freely in Christ. We don't need to do anything. Just receive by pure faith. Just through faith we are justified, by receiving we become God's children. This is the grace we can enjoy when we are saved.   What will happen after we are saved? Paul reminded us in verse 2 that we should stand in the grace of the Lord. The word "stand" means we stand firmly without falling. Why? Because the enemies will always deceive us to make us feel that we are unworthy and unable to enjoy God's grace. Many believers often have the first reaction as "this is probably not for me, but for those pastors and preachers", when they read about God's promise in the Bible. However, I have found that some pastors also share the same thought. The enemies use the same trick to deceive us repeatedly to make us dubious of  God's love and kindness. In fact, every believer is redeemed by a price paid by Jesus.   Having loved his own who were in the world, he loved them to the end. Don't indulge yourself in self-pity any more. Just stand in the grace of God.    Secondly, the enemies often stand by our side and accuse us. Sometimes when you just make a mistake, you would hear a voice from inside saying "look at you, how can you call yourself a Christian?" Many people indeed stumble from their weakness in the past and can never stand up again. In fact, God promises us that if we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. During Paul's first mission trip, Mark, who is the author of a book in the New Testament, gave up and went home in the middle of the trip due to his weakness. Later, when Paul was about to start his second mission trip, he wouldn't take Mark with him. What a big blow it was to a God's servant! I believe Mark would have been living under the accusations by himself and the enemies everyday. Praise the Lord! He was not struck down by the accusation by the enemies. Instead, he accepted God's forgiveness and stood up from the shadow of the past failure. Later on he became not only one of Paul's good helpers, but also one of the authors of the four Gospels.    Do you often live under the shadow of your past and accusations by the enemies?   Ask the Lord to set you free, for in Him there is the authority of healing and the grace of forgiveness. So just remember to stand firmly in the grace of God.                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we than you, for you loved us first with your everlasting love, and blessed our life with all kinds of grace. May the Lord help us not just to enjoy grace, but stand firmly in your grace every day. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 4:21-25

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 4:21-25     "...Being fully persuaded that God had power to do what he had promised. This is why 'it was credited to him as righteousness.' The words 'it was credited to him' were written not for him alone, but also for us, to whom God will credit righteousness-for us who believe in him who raised Jesus our Lord from the dead. He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification." It says here "God had power to do what he had promised". This sentence is not only for Abraham, but also for us. The God we trust in is the faithful true God, who keeps his word. The Bible says: "so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me empty". God fulfills His order and His work. Sometimes we fully believe God's promise for the past. However, it is hard for us to believe God's promise for the future. God is fulfilling his promise for us right now.   God is kind and faithful. Nothing is too difficult for Him. For he spoke, and it came to be; he commanded, and it stood firm. He is the God who gives life to the dead and calls into being things that were not. In fact, the question is never whether God is able to fulfill or not, but whether we are able to believe. Signs and wonders always happen when God puts promise and vision inside your heart. Even though no result is yet visible, and you don't understand how it will be fulfilled, it is visible inside your heart and you know God will definitely fulfill. Just like in the case of Abraham, when he was 75 years old, God promised him a son. He knew it would definitely be fulfilled. Even though he didn't know how it would be fulfilled, and he tried to help God with his own might in vain, he actually knew and believed that God would definitely fulfill his promise. So he was able to become the father of faith.    Do you have vision from God in your heart? If so, just fully believe that God will fulfill according to His power and timing. No matter how winding the path may be during the process, God will definitely fulfill. May God help us fully believe that the God we trust in is the living and true God.                              Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you. May you bless us with more hunger and thirst in our heart so that in our daily life, your word will bring us power and wisdom. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 4:18-20

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 4:18-20   "Against all hope, Abraham in hope believed and so became the father of many nations, just as it had been said to him, 'So shall your offspring be.'  Without weakening in his faith, he faced the fact that his body was as good as dead - since he was about a hundred years old - and that Sarah's womb was also dead.  Yet he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith and gave glory to God..."   True faith is not blind and it's not wishful thinking, but it's to realize our own incompetence.  Abraham knew that he had no hope for having children because he was almost a hundred years ago and he regarded himself as dead and his wife Sarah was also beyond the normal childbearing age.  From human perspective, there's no way that he would have children, but through his faith Abraham not only saw his own incompetence, but also the promise of God.  The promise was made 25 years ago when he was 75 years ago, and after such a long time it seemed like God's promise was never going to materialize.   It takes patience to wait upon God.  Abraham tried his own way and he had Ishmael with Sarah's servant Hagar.  God, however, told him that Ishmael was not the one he had promised, and the son who's the real heir to promise must be born by Sarah.  Year after year, as Sarah became older, how could the promise of God come true?  Don't we often have similar doubt towards the promises of God?  Nevertheless, verse 20 says that "he did not waver through unbelief regarding the promise of God, but was strengthened in his faith..."   Doubt is the biggest killer of our faith, for Eve stumbled and fell because of doubt.  When Eve saw all those fruits under the tree of good and evil, devil came to tempt her to see whether God was really telling the truth.  God did speak His word and made His promise to them, but the devil placed doubt inside Eve to think that perhaps God didn't give her the best.  Abraham had such great faith because he did not succumb to doubt; his biggest success was how he believed, without any doubt, that God's promise will come true.   Are you still waiting for God?  Even though God's timing and ways often make us anxious and even disappointed inside, God's promises are firmly set in heave and they will eventually come true.  We just need to wait and look upon Him by firm faith.                             Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you because when Abraham felt hopeless, he could still hold on to your promise by faith.  Please give us more faith, let our eyes not only see our own incompetence, but also to see how true you are, so that the faith in our hearts will be affirmed.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 4:17

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 4:17   "As it is written: 'I have made you a father of many nations.'  He is our father in the sight of God, in whom he believed--the God who gives life to the dead and calls things that are not as though they were."   Abraham was a man of great faith.  His faith was a not just an untouchable feeling, but he had concrete faith in God.  He had faith in God because he knew God, for true faith can only be grown out of knowing.   When you walk into a church and see a chair, you will naturally sit down on it without checking whether the chair will collapse.  Why do you have faith with the chair?  Because you know the place and past experience tells you that the chair is reliable, thus your faith is based on knowing.  Similarly, if we want to have a solid faith for God, we first need to really know God.  Abraham had such great faith for God because he knew that God could raise people from death and turn nothing into something.  The most surprising thing was not how God tested Abraham, but rather it was the fact Abraham stayed calm while bring Isaac to be offered to God as sacrifice.  How come Abraham was so calm?  Because he believed that even if he killed his son to offer to God, God could have resurrected him.  Therefore, he walked up the hill peacefully without any complaints about God and he didn't beg God to take away this trial; instead, he was prepared to offer Isaac.  When he lifted the knife on top of Isaac, he had faith that God was able to rescue his son from the enemy.  As soon as he showed such firm faith, God sent angel to stop him from actually killing Isaac.   What's your faith in God like?  Do you just believe that God exists, or do you believe that God will reward everyone who seeks Him?  The greater our faith to God is, the more God will accomplish for us.  The Bible says that "open your mouth wide and I will fill it."  Opening our mouth wide doesn't mean we just proclaim anything, but we need to have real faith and believe that although we can't do much, nothing is impossible in God.  This kind of faith will take your spirit higher, far beyond any difficulties, to enter the abundance of God.  Do you know the God you believe in?  How much faith you have in Him is determined by how much you know him, and it will also determine whether you will live by faith or by sight.                             Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please open our eyes to know you, expand our faith so that we can experience how faithful and true you are.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 4:13-16

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 4:13-16   "It was not through law that Abraham and his offspring received the promise that he would be heir of the world, but through the righteousness that comes by faith.  For if those who live by law are heirs, faith has no value and the promise is worthless, because law brings wrath. And where there is no law there is no transgression.  Therefore, the promise comes by faith, so that it may be by grace and may be guaranteed to all Abraham's offspring - not only to those who are of the law but also to those who are of the faith of Abraham. He is the father of us all." The gospel that justifies us by faith allows us to be able to stand before God, and even more preciously if allowed us into the promised of God and become an "heir" of God.  "Heir" doesn't only mean children, but also children who will receive inheritance.  Everything that father owns will be given to His offspring; not only can we claim to be righteous because of our faith, we can also become offspring of God by faith.  In other word, in Christ we can receive all inheritance from God today, which is indeed a precious promise.   First of all, in Christ we can claim to be children of God.  Just like how parents will also keep their children in mind, Father God will also always keep our needs in mind.  This truth is comforting indeed.   Next, in Christ we also have brothers and sisters.  In this big spiritual family, not only do we have a Father God, we are also the best brothers and sisters to each other.  When we are feeling weak, we can support each other.  We have are in need, we can supplement each other.  The brothers and sisters are truly the best gifts on earth that God has given to us.    Third, in Christ we will enjoy abundance.  This abundance is not wealth on the earth, but abundance of the soul.  When your soul is poor, you feel that you are nothing and have accomplished nothing.  When you come for Jesus, however, the Bible says that He is our grapevine, his wisdom will become our wisdom, his strength will become our strength, his mercy will become our mercy, and in Him we will become abundant.   Fourth, in Christ we can overcome the world and adopt the world.  The world is embodied by devil Satan, and he tries every possible way to deceive people.  We thank God because everyone who is born from God has already overcome the world and all the authorities of the enemy.   All these promises need to be received by faith; not only believing that God exists, but believing that God will give faith to everyone who seek Him.  Many believers are staying at the stage where they believe God exists, but never really understand the abundance they can have in Jesus Christ.  We need to learn to proclaim that - no matter how unclear the circumstance is - in Christ we already have abundance and victory in life.  God's grace will again and again come upon us because of our faith.                             Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please build up our faith to understand that for us Christians everyday is a day of faith.  Let us withdraw from your wisdom, strength and grace so that we are not only justified, but we can also be victorious.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 4:9-12

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 4:9-12   "Is this blessedness only for the circumcised, or also for the uncircumcised? We have been saying that Abraham's faith was credited to him as righteousness.  Under what circumstances was it credited? Was it after he was circumcised, or before? It was not after, but before! And he received the sign of circumcision, a seal of the righteousness that he had by faith while he was still uncircumcised. So then, he is the father of all who believe but have not been circumcised, in order that righteousness might be credited to them. And he is also the father of the circumcised who not only are circumcised but who also walk in the footsteps of the faith that our father Abraham had before he was circumcised."   God is completely fair.  The gospel was not only given to the Jews, but also given to the gentiles who believed God.  Abraham was actually a gentile who was called by God - The ancestor of the Jews was a Chaldean from where is known today as Iraq!  Because of his obedience, he became a channel of blessing in the hand of God.  Not only were his offspring blessed, all people and all nations are blessed because of him.  How did he become a channel of blessing?  The Jews thought it all began with the ceremony of circumcision, but that was not it.  The Jewish lineage actually began at Ur in Chaldea.  That's where God chose Abraham and asked him to leave his home town, his own race and his family to go to somewhere completely unknown, which was not an easy thing to do.   If Sarah was packing beside Abraham, she would ask: "Where are we going?"  Abraham would respond: "I don't know."  "How long will we be gone for?" "Not sure." "Alright, why are we leaving?" "I have no idea."  Abraham, nevertheless, held on to the promises of God and moved forward by his simple faith.  When he was 75 years old, God promised to give him a son, but he didn't have the son till he was 100 years old.  It's not that the way of God was not well planned, but God has His own timing and ways for His work.  Abraham was a man of simple faith; he chose the way of God, and God called him a righteous man.  It wasn't because he was outstanding in any way, but he was just glad to be a vessel of God.   Abraham became a friend of God not just because he was circumcised, because circumcision was merely an outward sign.  Abraham could claim to be righteous because of his faith and obedience.  Are you willing to become a blessing for all people and all nations the same way Abraham did?  Start serving your God in the smallest things!                           Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please give me an obedient heart so that we would believe your word in our daily life.  Let us be obedient to your guidance so that so that we will become a blessing to all people and all nations just like Abraham.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 4:6-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 4:6-8   "David says the same thing when he speaks of the blessedness of the man to whom God credits righteousness apart from works: 'Blessed are they whose transgressions are forgiven, whose sins are covered. Blessed is the man whose sin the Lord will never count against him.'"   Many of us are living under the authority of sin.  To sin is not just to commit some major crime.  A good example is when we get mad at someone.  We know we shouldn't offend others and we know it's not good for our health, but whenever we get mad it's like a storm that is out of control.  After we regain control of our mood, we regret and hope that there won't be a next time.  But again and again, we can never overcome the force inside us.  Temper is only one thing; if we humbly examine ourselves, we'd find that lots of things are controlling us.  Some people will filled with hatred and cannot forgive others; some are conceited and proud; some are living in unclean thoughts in their mind and cannot overcome them.  When we are living under such authority of sin, we won't have peace inside and our hearts are constantly accused by our sense of guilt.  We are always regretting our past and won't have real peace.  The Bible, however, says that "If we confess our sins, he is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness."  When we acknowledge our sins and our faults against others before God, God will wipe all our trespasses clean with His precious blood and heal us.  The precious blood of the Lord can bring us three types of grace: The precious blood can redeem our status.  When we acknowledge our sins before God, the Lord will cover us with the precious blood.  Our sins are then forgiven and we are like a blank sheet of paper before God, therefore our status before Him is forgiven. The precious blood can redeem our emotions.  There are people who have repented for their sins and God has forgiven them, but deep down inside they cannot forgive themselves and they still live under the bondage of their past.  The precious blood of the Lord, however, can redeem our status and also redeem our deepest emotions The precious blood can bring us healing of our wounds.  Sometimes the wounds inflicted by others can cause us to feel like we're living in a cold and dark world, but the precious blood of the Lord can heal the wounds in our hearts. Do you need to be redeemed and forgiven?  All you need to do is ask, and the Lord's forgiveness will come upon you!                           Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you have promised us that if we acknowledge our sin, you will forgive us.  Please place among us the peace from your redemption.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!