Today's Passage - Romans 8:33-34

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:33-34   "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies. Who then is the one who condemns? No one. Christ Jesus who died-more than that, who was raised to life-is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us." Satan once came to attack Martin Luther when he was doing meditation. Satan said: "How can someone like you serve God?" Satan took out a list and said: "Look, how many sins have you committed?" Martin Luther didn't show any surprise. Instead, he asked Satan: "Do you have more lists?" Satan replied: "Of course. I have the record of all the sins you ever committed since your birth. What are you going to say?" To Satan's surprise Martin Luther answered peacefully: "All the sins on the list have been wiped clean in Christ." He then throw the ink bottle at the wall and said: "Away from me, Satan!" This is what we can rely on when we rebuke the enemies. Don't forget that you are in the realm of the Lord. The Lord will surely support you with his hands so that you will not be swerving. For us who are so called in the realm of the Lord, be careful. Don't judge other people in the realm of Christ. When we get to taste the grace of the Lord and feel we are on top of the world, it is very likely for us to think we have found the answer. So we often ask others to copy us instead of the other way around. We are anxious to control others and change others, but we have overlooked the fact that God loves them, too. We need to be respectful to them. Brothers and sisters, our Lord has died for us. May the Lord help us to support each other when someone gets hurt. Are you willing to control your tongue so as not to complain, but to encourage and help others? May God remove the spirit of judgment and criticism from us, so that we can march forward in unity.                                        Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you, for You are the God of grace. May the Lord help us break away from any power of darkness, so that we no longer attack and judge each other, and your Spirit can flow in us and bring us the true freedom. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 8:31-32

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:31-32   "What, then, shall we say in response to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all-how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things?"   Anyone who trust in the Lord will definitely be able to conquer. From verses 31 to 38, Paul mentioned five great secrets to victory, each of which is in the form of a question. Firstly, who can be against us? Nobody, of course, for God is for us. We often overlook the salvation is for each of us. When we hear other people say God loves the world, we would say amen to that. But when someone tells us that "God love you", we would start to doubt - is it true? In fact, God not only loves the world, but also loves you. He knows what you need, and He will become your help. Psalm 42:5 says: "He puts a smile on my face. He's my God." Smile stands for acceptance. True help always starts with acceptance, unconditional one without any judgment or criticism.   We always look for others' acceptance in our life. We look for parents' acceptance in our childhood. When we grow up, we look for acceptance from teachers and classmates. When we live in the society, we look for acceptance from friends and supervisors. We also look for acceptance from our spouse in marriage. We often feel discourage by weaknesses of other people, but God never let us down. He is always ready to accept us. Once we experience acceptance from the Lord, we will become strong in our heart. The Lord has already triumphed over all the power of the enemies on the cross. We can also share the victory with Him in Christ, and rebuke any attack from the enemies by faith.   Secondly, how will God not also graciously give us all things, since God has given up his beloved Son for us? God loves us to the point that He gave up himself for us, is there anything else that God would not give us? Therefore, the Bible says: "If you, then, though you are evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father in heaven give good gifts to those who askhim!"May God help us not to doubt God's kindness. God mightdelay sometimes, but He never fails. He will always fulfill His great plan on you. So just approach the throne of grace of the Lord and ask, and believe that He will give you all riches of his grace.                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you, for you are the God that put a smile on our face. May you strengthen our faith, so that we can only look upon you. May the Lord help us not to stay in doubt or deception, so that we can believe and trust in your promise to triumph over the enemies. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 8:29-30

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:29-30   "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified."   Paul mentioned here five great achievements the Spirit has fulfilled on us: Firstly, the Spirit foreknew us. The God we believe in already knew us, and all our needs. The Bible says that God already knew us while we were still in the wombs; that He already inscribed us on the palms of His hand; that He called us by our names, and he knows our voices. God rules over the universe. He foreknows all our needs.   Secondly, for us the Spirit also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son. God works on us with the ultimate goal of conforming us more to the image of his Son Jesus Christ. In fact it doesn't matter the most in God's eyes whether our circumstances are good or not on earth. What matters the most is that He will keep molding us until we are more conformed to Christ.   Thirdly, He also called us to be in His realm. When God calls us, He wants our response to be not out of reluctance but out of spontaneity. His calling also symbolizes some kind of belonging, just like a shepherd who would call his sheep and take them back into the sheepfold if he sees them lost. Do you know that you belong to God? Once you realize you belong to God, you will be strong enough to face the future.   Fourthly, the Spirit also justified us. God not only called us into His realm, but also justified us. Once you realize that God justified you, you will be able to resist any attack of the enemies in the name of the Lord, just like what verse 33 says: "Who will bring any charge against those whom God has chosen? It is God who justifies."   Fifthly, it is God's desire to glorify us. When we meet Him in the future, God is ready to share with us His glory by lifting us up to meet Him. Even if we might feel how unworthy we are, how glorious it is for us to share the glory with the Lord.                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you for giving us the best. You foreknew us, and for us you predestined to be conformed to the image of Christ. Thank you for calling us,  justifying us, and letting us share the glory in Christ. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 8:27-28

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:27-28   "And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will.  And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose." ' Paul mentioned here an important work that the Holy Spirit does, which is to "intercedes for the saints in accordance with God's will" day and night.  The love from Holy Spirit is much like love from a mother, it's a love that never gives up.  He lives inside us and He understands our weakness and struggles, so He pleads on our behalf before Father God.  He's like a defense attorney in a court who keeps on fighting for the rights of the defendant.  In fact, Holy Spirit is the counselor, which means "the one who stands beside us."  Holy Spirit is the one who's always beside us to give us more strength.  On the other hand, He also understands the will of Father God, so He can pray blessings for us according to God's will.  Because He lives inside us, He can place the will of God into our mind and thoughts, so that our mind may be renewed to understand God's will.   Paul continued by saying that "we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose."  This scripture passage is often misused to comfort the victims who have suffered some tragedy.  The truth is that natural and manmade disasters are both direct or indirect results of sin of human beings, not the will of God.  In the midst of all the suffering, however, we can still see the mercy of God, but we can't see it by our nature, but rather we need the revelation and prompting by the Holy Spirit.   Therefore, verse 27 and 28 cannot be read separately.  It is only possible for us to see God's way in the midst of human suffering through the guidance by the light of the Holy Spirit.  Are you in all kinds of trial and suffering?  Sometimes you may not understand why these things happen to you, so you need to welcome Holy Spirit to work within you, to open your heart so that you can understand God's mercy and become your strength.  Don't reject Him easily, because He is the one who's standing beside you and helping you.                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Holy Spirit, we thank you because you are our comforter and helper, and you are standing beside us to support us.  May the Spirit of the Lord open our eyes so that I can see your mercy and blessing in the midst of any suffering.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 8:26

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:26   "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express."   "Weakness" means to struggle in the original text, which means the groaning inside the believers and the struggle between the law of God and law of our body.  In the midst of this struggle, we often don't know what to do or where our help is going to come from.  Therefore, Paul continue with: "We do not know what we ought to pray for..."  Isn't that how we feel when are weak?  I often run into believers who told me they don't know how to pray or their prayers don't seem to be effective.  So what kind of prayer is effective?  Our prayer is often murmuring to ourselves, always self-centered and meant to seek our own gratification.  These prayers are simply to express our own desires but we don't necessarily touch God's heart.  A prayer that truly pleases God is one that prays in accordance with will of God.   So how do we pray in accordance with will of God?  We need the help from Holy Spirit.  In fact, Paul said here that the Holy Spirit "himself intercedes for us with groans that words cannot express ".  In the original text, "groans" means the word from Holy Spirit.  Holy Spirit will speak to us and guide us when we are in need.  All we need to do is to listen to the voice of Holy Spirit attentively.  First of all, we need to welcome the Holy Spirit to come and work.  Holy Spirit is the God who is very tender and He will never force us to do anything; therefore, we need to proactively welcome His work.  Sometimes Chinese people find it hard to open our mouth to ask for something because of our ego and rationalism.  We need to humble ourselves and welcome the Holy Spirit to come and bring the authority of Christ into our lives.  Second, we must follow the prompting of the Holy Spirit.  Sometimes God will prompt us deep down inside us, and He also may use different ways to prompt us through our mind and thoughts.  Third, and also the most important, is that as soon as the Holy Spirit manifests His will, we must obey and act according to God's will.  We will surely be blessed.                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please show us your way; open our eyes so that we can see and open our ears so that we can hear.  Open our hearts so that you we can truly understand your will, and let your will be dome in our lives.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 8:23-25

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:23-25   "Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.  For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he already has?  But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently."   The second kind of groaning Paul mentioned here is the one from the believers.  Why would the believers groan?  This kind of groaning is not from sorrow, but rather it's from the inner struggle with the hope that is bound to come true yet still unaccomplished.  Christians should be very familiar with such struggles; when we accepted Jesus as our personal savior, we already received the status as son of God.  Although we can experience the grace of Father God while on earth, we after have never been completely released from the bondage of our body.  Although in status we can already sit on the throne with the Lord, on earth we still have to face spiritual warfare.   There's a theological term to describe our situation - "already and not yet."  Although we have received the promise, we can only completely enjoy the promise when the Lord returns, and that's Paul said in this passage that we still "wait eagerly for our adoption as sons. "  Paul didn't mean that we have not received the status yet; we have indeed received the status as God's son, but we are still waiting for the redemption of our body.  When the Lord returns, our bodies will changed to be like the resurrected body of Christ.   Therefore, we are groaning because we are responding to the state of "already and not yet."  This is not a sad and hopeless groaning, but we are actually filled with hope and joy because we have the concrete hope that the Lord will come back.  Brothers and sisters, do you have such beautiful hope inside?  Although we sometimes are in the state of groaning and we experience battle between our soul and body, do we still have such glorious hope inside?  Yes, the Lord will return, and when He returns we will become like Him.  We will sit on the throne with Him forever, and such hope should be the momentum for our daily life.                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, may you become the glorious hope inside us.  No matter what our circumstance is today, may your turn the groaning inside our hearts into joy and strength to wait upon you, and when we are weak let us depend on you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 8:18-22

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:18-22   "I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.  The creation waits in eager expectation for the sons of God to be revealed.  For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the glorious freedom of the children of God. We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."   Paul said that "the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time."  Why did he say that?  Because all things are in submission to the authority of sin.  When God created all things in the universe, He saw all things were good; when God created human beings, He also gave the responsibility to rule the land to us and God saw that as good too.  Adam named all the animals because God gave the authority to him.  Even though human beings committed sin against God, He never took the authority of ruling the land back from human beings.  Because human beings are under the authority of sin, the land is indirectly under the authority of sin; therefore, Paul said in verse 20: "For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it..."   When people are in sin and don't follow God's will in ruling the land, our environment becomes polluted.  As people over-develop the land, top soil is lost and it resulted in famine; as more oil wells were drilled, earth plates was shifted and it resulted in more earthquakes; as more factories and cars emitted more exhaust, the air becomes more polluted.  As we live in a polluted environment, we blame God and ask Him why He allowed these things to happen.  Actually, all these problems were caused by the sin of people.  Not only have we polluted the land, we also suffer other outcomes from our sinful choices.  Nevertheless, in the midst of all our sufferings, God is still graceful and merciful.  Sometimes He sends angels to protect us, and He blesses us through the comforting and prayer by brothers and sisters.  So many times we were able to persevere through suffering because of all the support from the loving brothers and sisters around us.  Sometimes God even manifest His mercy in the midst of suffering through prayer for healing.   God is indeed filled with mercy - even the universe and the land know the mercy of God.   Therefore, even the land is expecting for God's work.  In verse 21 say that we "hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay" because God will eventually come out victorious.  You and I need the same expectation when we are suffering.                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you are the master of all things in the universe.  Although the world we are living in is filled with darkness and sin, you are still in control and you are graceful to us when we are suffering.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 8:14-17

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 8:14-17   "...Because those who are led by the Spirit of God are sons of God.  For you did not receive a spirit that makes you a slave again to fear, but you received the Spirit of sonship. And by him we cry, "Abba, Father."  The Spirit himself testifies with our spirit that we are God's children.  Now if we are children, then we are heirs--heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory."   The biggest difference between servants and children is that no matter how kind the master is, servants are always fearful of the master because of they can never predict what the master will do.  Children, however, have no fear before their father because they know that father loves them and will never give up on them because of his love.  So, the major difference in terms of relationship is that one is based on submission but the other is based on love.  1 John 4:18 says that "perfect love drives out fear"; as soon as you know that you are children of God, not just a servant, you will be delivered from fear.   A sister in Christ once shared her own transformations.  For years she felt that she's a servant of a master while serving God.  When master was eating, she would be standing on his side to serve Him.  She never knew that she's part of the family and she could sit down and eat at will instead of just serving the master.  Once she understood it, her thoughts were changed and her ministry became different.  She is no longer fearful of what happens if she makes a mistake, but rather she is filled with joy because she knows that God is pleased with her, just like how she - as a mother - is pleased with her own children.   Do you understand that you are the children of God, not just His servants?  As His children, even if you suffered humiliation or messed things up, you can always go back to the Father and cry out to Him, because this loving Father will never reject you.  Hebrews 4:16 says that "Let us then approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need."  Think about the story of the prodigal son - wasn't the prodigal son full of fear when he first returned home?  His father's love for him, however, never changed because of his disobedience.  This is such precious truth - let us turn back to God today!                                   Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I pray for each and every brother and sister who are weak and have stumbled, fell and got hurt.  May you open their eyes so that they understand that they are your children, not your servants.  Let them once again be renewed and recharged so that they can turn back to you to receive all the grace you have prepared for them.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!