Today's Passage - Romans 12:9

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 12:9    Love must be sincere. Hate what is evil; cling to what is good. After reading this passage, the first question you would have is: "What is the standard for good and evil?" The Bible clearly tells us that there is only one in the universe that is truly good, and it is God himself. Whether something is good or evil is judged not by your perspective, but by God's perspective. For Christians, God's wants us to live a holy life. 1 Peter Chapter 1 says: "But just as he who called you is holy, so be holy in all you do." How can you be holy? Paul told us that we have to hate what is evil and stay away from sins. What is sin? We might think of some outward sins. But people actually judge by outward appearance, only God judges by our inner being. The true sin is based on our inner motivation. A preacher once said that there are two reasons behind anything we do. One is the good reason, the other is the real reason. When my daughter was little, after she did something wrong, she would come to me with kisses and hugs, and kept saying "Daddy, I love you." In the beginning I was really pleased to hear she say that. Later on I realized something was going on. Actually not only little children do this. We are just like them. There are many real reasons inside us that we are afraid to share. Brothers and sisters, I wonder how many real reasons inside you can be exposed to God and other people. Once in a meeting a father told me that his teenage son just passed the road test for driver's license. So he was anxious to get a car and kept asking for one every day. The son said: "Daddy, if I have a car, I don't have to get ride from you to the church. Instead I can also take many friends of mine to the church and serve the Lord together." The father was convinced and agreed to take him for car shopping. To his surprise the son said: "I already found a red car I like!"  He said actually his son was getting a car for himself, not the Lord. You can pretend to be a good person, or even a person with zeal for ministries, but what is your true motivation inside? Paul said that we have to not only hate the outward sins, but also ask the Lord to purify our heart. 1 Peter says: "Like a roaring lion your adversary the devil prowls around, looking for someone to devour." We will run into different kinds of temptations in our everyday life. We cannot keep being passive to the influence of the world; instead, ask the Lord to help us become active, offer ourselves to the Lord, stay us away from sin and let us be used by the Lord!        Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, may you guard our heart so we can stay pure before you. May you remove any selfishness from us so that we can live for you every day!  We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!