Today's Passage - Luke 16:9-13

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 16:9-13   'I tell you, use worldly wealth to gain friends for yourselves, so that when it is gone, you will be welcomed into eternal dwellings.  Whoever can be trusted with very little can also be trusted with much, and whoever is dishonest with very little will also be dishonest with much.  So if you have not been trustworthy in handling worldly wealth, who will trust you with true riches?  And if you have not been trustworthy with someone else's property, who will give you property of your own?  No servant can serve two masters. Either he will hate the one and love the other, or he will be devoted to the one and despise the other. You cannot serve both God and Money.'   The Lord is teaching us the right attitude towards money here.  First, the power of money is limited, and it won't stay forever.  Therefore, we need to have the right values, else our eyes will only be focused on money and thus become disappointed.  Second, we need to be faithful in the matters on money, and the faithfulness the Bible teaches includes the concept of earning a return.  The Lord has taught the parable of giving out money according to talent, where three servants received five talents, two talents and one talent.  When the one received five talents earned five talents, and the master said he's a good and faithful servant; when the one received two talents earned two talents, the master also said he's a good and faithful servant.  But when the one who received one talent returned the one talent the master gave him intact, the master rebuked him as a "wicked and lazy" servant.  When God entrusts us with resources and money, He wants us to earn more so that it can be used wisely for the Lord.  That's why John Wesley has said: "make all you can, save all you can, give all you can."  Today, believers often accomplish the first two, but overlook the third one.   How do we be faithful in money?  The Lord taught us in verse 13: "You cannot serve both God and Money."  The word used for "Money" was the name of the god of money at the time; it means that we should not worship money, because money is for us to use but is not for us to worship.  Today, however, many people don't worship true God, but worship sold and silver, believing that they can bring us happiness; the reality is that money brings even more emptiness.  You can find out whether you are worshipping God by asking yourself what do you consider when buy something.  Do you just consider whether you can afford it, or do you ask whether God wants you to buy it?  If you are only considering whether you have the money, then money has become your God.  Let us bring all things big and small before God, for only when a person is faithful is small things will God give him big things to do.  That's why reverent Chou has said, "small thing is a small thing, but a small thing done faithfully becomes a big thing."  May God help, let us become faithful servant in God's house!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you are willing to let us take part in your work.  May God help us not to become unrighteous manager, but to be a faithful manager in all things you entrust us.  Let us use the resources you give us to expand your Kingdom, so that your name will receive the greatest glory through us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 16:1-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 16:1-8   Jesus told his disciples: 'There was a rich man whose manager was accused of wasting his possessions.  So he called him in and asked him, "What is this I hear about you? Give an account of your management, because you cannot be manager any longer."  The manager said to himself, 'What shall I do now?  My master is taking away my job.  I'm not strong enough to dig, and I'm ashamed to beg - I know what I'll do so that, when I lose my job here, people will welcome me into their houses.'  So he called in each one of his master's debtors.  He asked the first, "How much do you owe my master?"  "Eight hundred gallons of olive oil," he replied.  The manager told him, "Take your bill, sit down quickly, and make it four hundred."  Then he asked the second, "And how much do you owe?"  "A thousand bushels of wheat," he replied.  He told him, "Take your bill and make it eight hundred."  The master commended the dishonest manager because he had acted shrewdly.  For the people of this world are more shrewd in dealing with their own kind than are the people of the light.   The manager in this passage was described as "dishonest," so what he had done was undesirable and the Lord doesn't want us to learn from him.  So, why was he described as dishonest?   First, he wasted the master's money; second, he modified the master's bills and caused the master to loose money; thus, he was really a dishonest manager.  But then, Lord praised him for being shrewd, and there are three reasons: first, he recognized his own situation, and he knew that he couldn't do much by his own might if he loses his job; second, he recognized his opportunity and he needed to plan for his future while he was still the manager; third, he knew the use for money, and even though his ways were wrong, he did know how to use money to make friends in order to secure his own future.  What the Lord meant was, if this dishonest manager knew how to use dishonest ways to seek for his future refuge, what about us, the children of light?  Shouldn't we value things with eternal value even more, and use the right ways to make deposit to our account of eternity?   How do we make an effort on spiritual matters?  First, we need to spend time to read God's Word.  The Bible says that God's Word is the food for our spiritual life.  If we don't read the Bible for a long time, our spiritual life will wither.  Many believers never read the Bible and only depend on Sunday service sermons.  The Sunday sermons, however, are shorter than 30 minutes, which add up to less than 26 hours a year.  Consider the skipped services due to sickness, business trip, vacation, laziness, the time spent on listening to sermons might be less than 24 hours.  No wonder our spiritual life is not healthy and strong.  Second, we must spend time to pray, because some have said that prayer in the spiritual breathing.  Without breathing, a body will die very soon.  In the same way, our spiritual life needs to have such eagerness.  We need to spend time to get close to God through prayer, so that God's Word will become the momentum and blessing in our life.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please place spiritual shrewdness and eagerness in our heart, so that in our daily life we would pursue spiritual matters, and have wisdom in spiritual matters that will overtake the wisdom of people of the world.  We will experience your abundance and power in our daily life because we know you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 15:20-24

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 15:20-24   So he got up and went to his father.  But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him.  The son said to him, 'Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.'  But the father said to his servants, 'Quick! Bring the best robe and put it on him.  Put a ring on his finger and sandals on his feet.  Bring the fattened calf and kill it. Let's have a feast and celebrate.  For this son of mine was dead and is alive again; he was lost and is found.' So they began to celebrate.'   We can learn two lessons from the younger son:   First, we need to learn how to humble ourselves.  When we are proud, our eyes cannot see our true situation; but when we humble ourselves, we can see how weak we are, and we'll recognize the love and abundance of God.  In the case of the younger son, once he humbled himself, he recognized how miserable he was, for he couldn't even eat what the pigs ate, and then he thought of the abundance in the house of his father.  Thus, he no longer insisted on depending on his own strength, because he would do better if he had gone home and served as his father's servant, and his hearted started to turnaround.  The Bible says that "for the foolishness of God is wiser than man's wisdom," and God's weakness would be much stronger than men's strength.  Do you know that God still loves you, He is waiting for you, and He totally accepts you?  It's just like the younger son returning home, even though he was dirty and smelly, his father immediately hugged and kissed him.  In the same way, God still loves us, and He's willing to accept us just as we are.  As soon as we humbly come to Him, His love will come upon us.   Second, the younger son was determined to turn back to God, as he wanted to get up and go.  He struggled in his heart but also made up his mind.  When the younger son was on his way home, his heart might have been struggling, for he wasn't sure how his father will treat him, so he might have been pacing slower and slower.  It was a surprise to him that his father came out his home and hugged him, then once again gave his all the best things.  He might have thought that it he had known, he would have returned home earlier, and didn't have to wander around and suffer through loneliness and rejection.  If we had known that Father God loved us and wanted to help us so much, we would have turned back to God earlier instead of facing life's obstacles alone.  The younger son's determination to return home let him experience once again the grace of Father God.  Brothers and sisters, are you willing to humble yourself like the younger son, to once again turn back to God, and to enjoy all the grace of Father God?     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you are filled with mercy and compassion; you have never changed, and your grace has never changed.  Please help us to have a soft heart like the younger son, and have the determination to turn back to you to experience your love.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 15:11-19

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 15:11-19   Jesus continued: 'There was a man who had two sons.  The younger one said to his father, "Father, give me my share of the estate."  So he divided his property between them.  Not long after that, the younger son got together all he had, set off for a distant country and there squandered his wealth in wild living.  After he had spent everything, there was a severe famine in that whole country, and he began to be in need.  So he went and hired himself out to a citizen of that country, who sent him to his fields to feed pigs.  He longed to fill his stomach with the pods that the pigs were eating, but no one gave him anything.  When he came to his senses, he said, "How many of my father's hired men have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you.  I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired men."'   The younger son asked the father for his share of the estate, meaning that he thought he was entitled to that portion of the estate; however, didn't everything he owned belong to the father?  Wasn't his life, his breathe, even his portion of the estate all from the grace of his father?  In this parable in the Bible, this father is actually the heavenly father whom we believe in, who created everything, and who is filled with love.  When God created human beings, He gave them life and let them survive and reproduce.  He first created all beings and then human beings, so that human beings can enjoy all the resources on earth, and also given the responsibility to take care of the land.  In other word, everything that human beings own on earth is from God.  We, however, often feel that we deserve everything that we have, because we have gained them from our hard work and life.  But isn't our life also from God?  The sense of self-dependence and entitlement often makes us reject the grace of God.   We are much like this younger son; we like to depend on ourselves, thinking that we deserve everything, but our hearts turn cold and distant from God.  May the Spirit of the Lord remind us through this parable to turn back to Father God, knowing that in the house of God there is abundant grace, and we only need to come before Him and receive all kinds of grace from Him, because we know the our Father God is willing to give everything to us. Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you, and I ask that you open our eyes to know that you are the God where all grace is from, for everything in our life is from you.  Let us have a softened and humble heart, to turn back to you, and you will give us all kinds of grace according to your abundant promise.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 15:8-10

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 15:8-10   'Or suppose a woman has ten silver coins and loses one. Does she not light a lamp, sweep the house and search carefully until she finds it?  And when she finds it, she calls her friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost coin."  In the same way, I tell you, there is rejoicing in the presence of the angels of God over one sinner who repents.'   The Lord talked about lighting a lamp here, which represents the work of the Holy Spirit.  Holy Spirit is like light in our life, it proactively seeks us in many ways.  First of all, Holy Spirit is like light that prompts us to rebuke ourselves for the sake of sin, righteousness and judgment.  The greatest difficulty in spreading the gospel is to let someone recognize his sin; not only is it difficult for non-believers, it also difficult for believers.  We often think we are righteous, and it's hard for us to see how we have forsaken God and other people.  Our self-righteousness is like a person cleaning up a house in the darkness.  He's making an effort to clean up the house and he thinks he's doing a good job, but as soon as sunlight comes in, he will see that the house is filled with dust and spider web.  He didn't see the dirtiness not because his eyes are not good, but because there was no light in the house.  In the same way, Holy Spirit is the light in your life, and only when the light of the Holy Spirit shines in will one sees his own filthiness, and thus turn back to God.   Second, Holy Spirit is like light that it provides guidance.  In the darkness we often cannot see what's ahead of us, but when the light of the Holy Spirit comes, our way become brighter.  Psalm 16:18-29 says that "you, O LORD, keep my lamp burning; my God turns my darkness into light.  With your help I can advance against a troop; with my God I can scale a wall."  There is a lamp inside our hearts, but because of sin the lamp has become dark.  No matter how we examine our life, it looks like we are trapped in four walls with no way out.  When the Holy Spirit comes into our life, however, the lamp inside is lit, and we start to see the path forward in our life, which brings us much joy.  In the parables preached by the Lord, the word "rejoice" was used repeatedly, because it is a great joy for a personal to turn back to God.  Not only is the personal joyful, all the angels and army of the heaven will rejoice with him, and even more precious would be the joy shared by people around him.  Are you prompted to work with the Holy Spirit with joy to bring hearts of people back to God? Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I ask that you help us to see how you want to find the lost sheep; Holy Spirit wants to light the lamps in our lives, and to bring our hearts back to you.  Let us be touched by your heart, and to work together with you each day in our life to spread the gospel to everyone around us who needs it.  I ask that you especially bless the non-believers in our family, and let them turn back to you as soon as possible.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 15:1-7

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 15:1-7   Now the tax collectors and 'sinners' were all gathering around to hear him.  But the Pharisees and the teachers of the law muttered, 'This man welcomes sinners and eats with them.'  Then Jesus told them this parable: 'Suppose one of you has a hundred sheep and loses one of them.  Does he not leave the ninety-nine in the open country and go after the lost sheep until he finds it?  And when he finds it, he joyfully puts it on his shoulders and goes home. Then he calls his friends and neighbors together and says, "Rejoice with me; I have found my lost sheep."  I tell you that in the same way there will be more rejoicing in heaven over one sinner who repents than over ninety-nine righteous persons who do not need to repent.'   The Lord used the parable of the lost sheep to explain His ministry on earth.  The Lord came to find and save the lost sheep; conventional logic tells us that we should not abandon 99 sheep to look for one that was lost.  What if the one could not be found, yet the 99 were lost?  This parable of the Lord is rather harsh because we often like to take care of the 99 in the church, believing that it's the top priority ministry.  The Lord, however, said here that He had rather be looking for the one that was lost.   The Lord actually enjoyed answering the prayer of the 100th sheep the most, because it is the heart of the Lord to save the sinners who are willing to repent and to welcome them into the kingdom of God.  In verse 7, the Lord even said that when that one sinner repented, the joy in the heaven will be greatly than it is for the 99 righteous people who did not need to repent.  If we truly understand this truth, we will work hard to spread the gospel, and we'll also discover how easy it is to spread the gospel.  Since God enjoyed listening to the prayer of the non-believers, He is happy to satisfy their needs.  All we need to do is to bless them with prayer.  When their prayers are answered, their hearts will turn back to God.   If your colleagues in the office told you that he's having some trouble at home, why don't you ask him whether you can pray for him today?  You will discover that no one will turn down your offer to pray for him.  Once you pray for him, and the prayer is answered, he will remember that it is your God who accomplished a wonderful work for him.  God actually has a "100th sheep club," because He likes to answer the prayers of those who seek God.  We used to be members of this club, but after we accept the Lord we often forget the heart of the God; we only see the 99 sheep, but forget the one that was lost.  May the Spirit of God open our eyes and have merciful compassion of the Lord in our heart, so that we will go search for the 100th sheep around us.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, please grant us a merciful heart.  We often only seek for our own satisfaction, we want to enjoy a good time with 99 sheep, but we neglect the 100th sheep that is out there.  May God remind us, let us see that your heart is with the 100th sheep.   Let us be willing to go out and collaborate with you, to seek for the 100th sheep, and bring it back to your sheep pen to enjoy your grace.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 14:28-35

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 14:28-35   'Suppose one of you wants to build a tower. Will he not first sit down and estimate the cost to see if he has enough money to complete it?  For if he lays the foundation and is not able to finish it, everyone who sees it will ridicule him, saying, "This fellow began to build and was not able to finish."  'Or suppose a king is about to go to war against another king. Will he not first sit down and consider whether he is able with ten thousand men to oppose the one coming against him with twenty thousand?  If he is not able, he will send a delegation while the other is still a long way off and will ask for terms of peace.  In the same way, any of you who does not give up everything he has cannot be my disciple.  Salt is good, but if it loses its saltiness, how can it be made salty again?  It is fit neither for the soil nor for the manure pile; it is thrown out.  He who has ears to hear, let him hear.'   The Lord taught us here that those who follow the Lord must calculate the price they need to pay, and that is a refreshing concept for most people.  When preaching the gospel, many only preach half of it, which is the peace and joy one would receive by believing in Jesus, but we forget to tell people about the price for following the Lord.   Following Jesus is not a trivial matter, for it is something that may cost our life.  In the early church, disciples were willing to die for their faith.  The first Chinese Christians were also frequently persecuted and even cast out from their homes.  The early church had tremendous momentum because they knew the price of suffering they must pay, and they were even willing to sacrifice their life for the Lord.  Such a fearless army cannot be defeated, and thus even the Roman Empire became a Christian nation.   When you and I are following the Lord, have we calculated the price?  It might not be the will of God for us to sacrifice for the Lord, but He has called us to live for Him.  It is not to live an ordinary life, but it's to put ourselves in the path of death to ourselves.  It is to live our daily life for our own satisfaction, but rather to seek satisfaction of the Lord; it's not to seek our own good, but to seek the good for the Lord.  Only when we are willing to live for the Lord that way, we will be able to conquer all temptations and attacks from the world.  The Lord has said that "No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God."  Once we decide to follow the Lord, God grace will be with us through the rest of our life.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, please help us to understand how to calculate the price we must pay, so that we will be truly willing to surrender our life, time and energy to live for you.  Let the beauty of the Lord be manifested in our life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 14:25-27

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 14:25-27   Large crowds were traveling with Jesus, and turning to them he said: 'If anyone comes to me and does not hate his father and mother, his wife and children, his brothers and sisters--yes, even his own life - he cannot be my disciple.  And anyone who does not carry his cross and follow me cannot be my disciple.   Do we believe in a "budget gospel?"  It's a budget gospel if all we want is the blessing of god, but we don't what to pay any price to follow Christ.  In this passage, Jesus told us clearly that if anyone wants to follow Him, he must sacrifice himself and carry his cross to follow Jesus.  When Jesus calls someone, He calls the person to die for Him.  It may not be a physical death, but it's to put our old life to death and accept the new life of Christ.   Everyone likes to care for our own body.  We want all kind of grace from God, but we don't want to hear about the price we nee to pay.  It's most obvious when you open the Bible and look at what passages had red and blue underlines, and you'll see that most of them are promises and blessings of God.  Such behavior is like how a child eats jam sandwich - he will eat the part with the jam and give the crust of the bread back to you.  When we read God's word, we like to find the parts that please us; when we read Luke 12:32, "do not be afraid, little flock, for your Father has been pleased to give you the kingdom," we give thanks loudly and say "Amen!  Praise the Lord!"  But when we reach the next sentence, "sell your possessions and give to the poor," we immediately think that's not what the Lord is telling us.   When we memorize scripture passages, we like to memorize "Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest," but then we neglect the following sentence: "Take my yoke upon you and learn from me..."   Thus, some have said that the gospel we believe in is the "fifth gospel," one that only has grace and blessing, but nothing about the price that we have to pay.  This is a human-centered gospel, a gospel that is created to satisfy human needs, but it's not the gospel of Jesus Christ.   Christians today are living without power, churches don't have great testimonies, and God's kingdom is not expanding because too many people are believers of the fifth gospel.  They want grace and blessings, but they are not willing to offer themselves for God's work.  If we want to live a life on earth that glorifies God and edifies people, we must be true disciples for the sake of God, and we must carry our cross and follow our Lord.   Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, please help us to be determined in following you.  Let us depart from living in the fifth gospel; when we enjoy your grace, we will also pay the price to follow you daily.  May the Holy Spirit strengthen us, enable us to live a life that pleases you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!