Today's Passage - Luke 19:45-48

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 19:45-48   Then he entered the temple area and began driving out those who were selling.  'It is written,' he said to them, 'My house will be a house of prayer; but you have made it 'a den of robbers.'  Every day he was teaching at the temple.  But the chief priests, the teachers of the law and the leaders among the people were trying to kill him.  Yet they could not find any way to do it, because all the people hung on his words.   Why did the Lord do that?  From human perspective, the Lord didn't seem to have done a sensible thing.  In fact, when we are praising and worshipping the Lord as the King and the Most High, we neglect that He is also the Holy Savior.  When Lord Jesus entered the temple, He saw how the temple was filled with sounds of trading, because the Jews of the time valued trading more than they valued God, and valued money more than they valued the blessings of God.  The focus of their faith has shifted from God to people, so Jesus had to clean up the temple, because God is holy and He could not tolerate the presence of sin.  When light shines into a dark room, it will cast out darkness.  When Jesus comes to the world, He will bring forth blessings; however, before the blessings come, He must first cast out and push out the undesirable things.   I have attended a conference where something a speaker said really helped me.  He said that the weakness of a Christian is never caused by the wickedness of the world, but it's because his own sin.  Too many Christians think they are doing well and doing the right things, and they cannot see their own inner darkness.  Our faith is always the path, way and wish of God, and we cannot praise God and walk on our own path at the same time.  May God enter our hearts, remove our self-centeredness and remove all the disobedience.  If in our life our personality needs to be dealt with, then we should let the Lord come and deal with it!  If our lifestyle needs to be changed, then we should let the Lord come and change it!  If we don't have any hunger for God, and we need to experience revival, then let the Lord bring forth revival!   Our Lord is out master who can cast out and push out things.  Not only can He cast out and push out, He can also accept new things after old things are cast out; after old things are pushed out, He can put up new things.  Let us come before God and plead with Him, and let God accomplish His work of casting out and pushing out in our midst!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you, because not only are you the God who can cast out and push out, you can only accept and rebuild.  May the Spirit of the Lord shine on us, remove the darkness in our life, so that we will experience the rebuilding by the Holy Spirit in our daily life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 19:41-44

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 19:41-44   As he approached Jerusalem and saw the city, he wept over it and said, 'If you, even you, had only known on this day what would bring you peace - but now it is hidden from your eyes.  The days will come upon you when your enemies will build an embankment against you and encircle you and hem you in on every side.  They will dash you to the ground, you and the children within your walls.  They will not leave one stone on another, because you did not recognize the time of God's coming to you.'   Why did the Lord weep?  Verse 44 says that the Jews "did not recognize the time of God's coming to you," because the Lord already foresaw that in 70 AD the Roman army will march into Jerusalem and burn the whole city down.  The gold in the temple melted between the stones, so the Roman soldiers had to take apart the stones in order to fetch the gold.  Indeed, no stone will be left on another stone.  The Jews back then, however, didn't know that these things will happen, and they refused to repent and turn back to God.  We thought that the Jews, after all the hardship throughout history, would have turned back to God, but in fact, until today, Jews are still hardened and don't want to turn back to God.   When I think about how the Jews don't want to turn back to God, I weep for them, because although they follow the rituals and laws, they refuse the God who gave them the law.  I also weep for many lost souls around us, because many who are living under the grace and mercy of God do not know His will.  The Bible says that we ought to look for Jehovah when He can still be found.  Many do not understand this, so they take God's word lightly and don't pay attention to God's work.  Many turn back to God only after they encounter storms in their lives.   The Bible says that "now is the time of God's favor, now is the day of salvation."  You must come to depend on God when the door of grace is still wide open.  This calling is not only made towards to the non-believers, but also to the believers.  Many believers say that they want to be close to God, but their hearts are far from God.  Therefore, in 1 Peter, it says that "for you have spent enough time in the past doing what pagans choose to do," but those days should be done, and this is the time to turn back.  God is still watching over us, so let us come closer to God!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because you are still watching over us and saving us.  May the Lord open our eyes so that we will understand that your grace and mercy are meant for us.  Let our hearts turn back to you so that we may receive your love abundantly.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 19:37-40

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 19:37-40   When he came near the place where the road goes down the Mount of Olives, the whole crowd of disciples began joyfully to praise God in loud voices for all the miracles they had seen: 'Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!  Peace in heaven and glory in the highest!'  Some of the Pharisees in the crowd said to Jesus, 'Teacher, rebuke your disciples!'  'I tell you,' he replied, 'if they keep quiet, the stones will cry out.'   The Lord is the savior who is worthy to be praised, and He also welcome the praise and worship by people.  As recorded in the four gospels, people at the time used different ways to praise and worship Jesus Christ.  Some laid their clothes on the ground, some chopped down branches and laid on the ground, some cried out "Hosanna to the Son of David!"  Gospel of Luke also recorded that the disciples yelled joyfully: "Blessed is the king who comes in the name of the Lord!"  Even children were creaming in the temple, "Hosanna!  Hosanna!"   Lord is a majestic Lord, not only does He deserves to receive glory, He also resurrected from death and is now sitting on the great throne in the heaven, and deserves our worship.  It is supposed to be solemn in the temple, everything should follow some order or protocol, so when the Pharisees heard all the sound of yelling, they felt uncomfortable.  Also, people were calling Jesus the Lord, and that agitated the Pharisees, and they hoped Jesus would quell the sound of the people.  But the Lord taught us here that He was pleased with such joyful worship.  If you have been to Jerusalem, you'd see that the whole city is filled with rocks; streets are cobblestone streets, houses are built with stones, and mountains are stone mountains.  Jesus said that even "the stones will cry out," so you can imagine what happens who a mountain full of stones rise up to worship God.   When you really know the Lord's almightiness, love and truthfulness, you cannot help but to open your heart and praise Him.  Just like a child, no matter how others see you, you will simply come to praise and worship, because it pleases the Lord.  When you raise your arms, clap, open your mouth and praise, these outward forms can help you to open yourselves to God, and thus your eyes won't just look at the people and environment around you, and you will focus on praising God.  Although the outward form doesn't represent anything, when you are willing to open yourself to God, Holy Spirit will be able to move in your life more freely, and bring on more blessings.   All of God's grace flows down from His throne, and we can only receive the grace promised by God through opening ourselves to praise and worship Him.  Worship is the root of the blessings on the disciples, so we must practice crying out praises before God, because our Lord deserves it!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please help us to open your heart and praise you, just like the disciples back in your time, to joyfully cry out and sing, because you deserve it.  When we praise and worship you, your throne will be established in our midst.  We wish for your authority as the king will manifest in our life, and make us vehicle in your hands, and to be used by you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 19:32-36

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 19:32-36   Those who were sent ahead went and found it just as he had told them.  As they were untying the colt, its owners asked them, 'Why are you untying the colt?'  They replied, 'The Lord needs it.'  They brought it to Jesus, threw their cloaks on the colt and put Jesus on it.  As he went along, people spread their cloaks on the road.   The Lord rode the colt into Jerusalem, which represented His status as the king.  First, He was riding the colt and many people misunderstood it as a sign of humility.  We often think that kings are supposed to ride with multitude of vehicles or on a beautiful white horse.  Because Jesus was riding a colt, even though his entry into Jerusalem did cause an uproar in Jerusalem, the Roman government didn't pay too much attention to it.   Actually, in the Old Testament, when a king was enthroned, he would not ride a horse, but a donkey.  1 Kings Chapter 1 described the scene of the enthronement of Solomon, who was riding a donkey.  Therefore, Jesus purposely rode a donkey into the city, and the people and Pharisees at the time immediately knew that Jesus entered Jerusalem as a glorious king.  Jesus, however, was full of humility and gentleness, for He never forced anyone to accept Him; He could have brought with Him the angels and army of the heaven to wipe out all the opposing force, but He rather use the love of the cross to draw us to Him, until we willingly come to love Him and serve Him.  Revelations tells us that until today, He is still standing outside our heart and knocking on the door, and if anyone hears Him and opens the door, He will enter their life.  Jesus Christ is the king of the universe, and He wants to be the ruler of our life.   On the other hand, when Jesus sent two disciples to find the colt, He told them: "...you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, 'Why are you untying it?' tell him, 'The Lord needs it.'"  When the Lord wanted the disciples to say this, the words actually carried the authority of the Lord, as it reveals that our Lord is the ruler of the universe, for everything belongs to Him.  Gospel of Mark says that this colt was never ridden by anyone, and no one can stay on such a colt for more than a few seconds; however, in the hands of Jesus, the colt was quietly used by Him.   Lord Jesus is not only the ruler of the universe, ruler of all souls, He is also the ruler of all things and He's worthy of our praise and for us to serve.  The Lord is a glorious king, so let us praise Him together!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you and praise you!  You are the ruler of everything in the universe, and the glorious king.  We welcome you into our life to rule us, so we ask that you remove everything that doesn't belong to you, remove all the authority of darkness and sin, so that we may enjoy freedom, peace and joy in you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 19:28-31

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 19:28-31   After Jesus had said this, he went on ahead, going up to Jerusalem.  As he approached Bethphage and Bethany at the hill called the Mount of Olives, he sent two of his disciples, saying to them, 'Go to the village ahead of you, and as you enter it, you will find a colt tied there, which no one has ever ridden. Untie it and bring it here.  If anyone asks you, "Why are you untying it?" tell him, "The Lord needs it."'   Whenever I think of this colt, I think about how much Christians resembles it.  There is only one purpose for the colt to be untied, and that is to be used by the Lord.  Similarly, Christians are untied, or delivered, from the bondage of sin so that we can be used by the Lord.  In the workplace, we bear witness for the Lord through our work; in the family, husbands love their wives and wives obey their husbands for the Lord; in the church, we do our best in everything to serve God.  In fact, the value of the colt is only manifested when he was used by the Lord and in the Lord's hand.  Apart from the Lord, his value won't be manifested.   I've read an essay named "the day after Palm Sunday."  The colt woke up after Palm Sunday, and he thought of all the joyful scenes from yesterday.  He lifted up his head and marched forward with pride, and he said: I am going to show myself to the people around the well!  Today, however, no one looked at the colt, and he got mad and said" Why don't you lay your clothes on the ground?  Don't you recognize who I am?  They looked at the colt with amazement, and some even threw stones at him.  He tried to escape from the stones and said: Fine, I'll go to the market instead, for there must be people there who'll recognize me.  The same thing, however, happened in the market as well.  He yelled for people to toss the palm branches, but no one did.  He was totally puzzled and returned to his mother's side.  His mother gently told him: My child, without Him, you can't do anything!   Many of God's servants who are used by Him mightily seem to possess many gifts, like preaching and praying; however, without the Lord, they can't do anything.  Don't underestimate yourself though, because you are not just a colt that has not been used; as long as you are willing to be used by God, He can use you to do mighty things.  For He is the ruler of the universe, so in Him nothing is impossible!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please help us to know to we are merely a colt in your hands; apart from you we cannot do anything, and our value is only manifested when we are in your hands.  Please encourage us to offer ourselves to you willingly, so that we can be used by you and to do mighty things for you.  Help us to offer ourselves in our daily life and to live for you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 19:20-27

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 19:20-27   'Then another servant came and said, "Sir, here is your mina; I have kept it laid away in a piece of cloth.  I was afraid of you, because you are a hard man. You take out what you did not put in and reap what you did not sow."  His master replied, "I will judge you by your own words, you wicked servant! You knew, did you, that I am a hard man, taking out what I did not put in, and reaping what I did not sow?  Why then didn't you put my money on deposit, so that when I came back, I could have collected it with interest?"  Then he said to those standing by, "Take his mina away from him and give it to the one who has ten minas."  "Sir," they said, "he already has ten!"  He replied, "I tell you that to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away.  But those enemies of mine who did not want me to be king over them - bring them here and kill them in front of me."'   When the third servant returned, he just gave the one mina he received back to the master, and then the master rebuked him as a "wicked servant."  Why?  First of all, the servant didn't understand the master's heart, for he thought that the master was harsh, but he didn't know that the master was also filled with grace, wasn't it?  The master liked to have the servants enjoyed all he's got with him, that's why he allowed the first servant to rule ten cities and the second servant five.  But inside the heart of the third servant there was a misled fear, thus he couldn't receive any reward from the master.  Second, the servant didn't even bother trying to earn more, for he didn't even deposit the money in the bank, so he must have been a lazy person.  God called us to the faithful servants, but if we don't follow God's word and we hide our gifts so that they won't be used by God, one day God will also rebuke us as useless servants.   Something is "useless" because it's not used; in the spiritual realm there's an everlasting rule: the more we use the gifts, the more we will have; the more blessings we give away, the more blessings we will have.  It's just like our hands: Most people are accustomed to using right hands, so the right hand become more and more able; however, the left hand become less and less able because it's never used.  That's why the Lord said that "to everyone who has, more will be given, but as for the one who has nothing, even what he has will be taken away."  Those who are willing to be used for God's Kingdom, God will give more; on the contrary, those who are not willing to be used by God will be frozen and become useless vessels that cannot bring forth any blessings.   Brothers and sisters, are you faithful in whatever God has entrusted you?  It really doesn't matter what you have, but it's just whether you are willing to be used by the Lord!  When you are happy to be used by the Lord, the Lord will call you a faithful and good servant!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please don't let us become useless servants in the gifts and talents that you have entrusted us.  May the Lord give us a willing heart, so that we will be used by you in our daily life, and pour down your blessing and joy upon each brother and sister.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 19:15-19

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 19:15-19   'He was made king, however, and returned home.  Then he sent for the servants to whom he had given the money, in order to find out what they had gained with it.  The first one came and said, "Sir, your mina has earned ten more."  "Well done, my good servant!" his master replied. "Because you have been trustworthy in a very small matter, take charge of ten cities."  The second came and said, "Sir, your mina has earned five more."  His master answered, "You take charge of five cities."'   One of the characteristics of a faithful servant, as the Lord taught us here, is to know that everything he owns belongs to God, and to know how to earn more with what he owns, which means to expand God's Kingdom by using all the resources given by God.  The expansion of the Kingdom of God is not only done by preaching the gospel, but also by bringing the righteousness and fairness of the Kingdom into the wicked world.  Therefore, the expansion of the Kingdom isn't just done by church ministry, but also mobilizing every believer to fulfill our duty in daily life.   Expansion of God's Kingdom cannot depend on some pastors and a few brothers and sisters who love the Lord, but it's the responsibility of all Christians.  Everyone is living in unique surroundings, so only you can witness for God in your surroundings, no one can replace you.  We cannot witness for you in your company, because we are not in your company and we don't understand what you do.  In the same way, I cannot resolve your family issues, because I am not in your position, and only you in your daily life can manifest the glorious beauty of the Kingdom.  Only you can bring the peace and joy of the Kingdom to your surroundings in life.  When everyone is complaining, can you still be joyful and gentle by the Lord?  Jesus Christ said, if you do not carry your cross to follow him daily, then you are not worthy to be called his disciple.  You and I must take our faith seriously; if Jesus is truly our Lord, then we need to follow Him joyfully.   The fact is that the expansion of the Kingdom doesn't depend on any important figures, but the nameless people who can ignite sparkles of revival.  There was a church in Philadelphia that really encouraged brothers and sisters to use their expertise to influence the community.  In that church, not only leading bible study or preaching is considered a ministry, but all kinds of gifts and talents are exercised.  For example, some people are good at filing tax returns, and they can help others to file tax returns.  Some are doctors and nurses, and every week they perform free service at church or in Chinatown.  Some are good with solar energy and carpentry, they got together and applied for government funding to help the poor living in Chinatown to build energy-efficient house.  Many have never heard the gospel before, but because of all the services that brothers and sisters from this church performed, they were attracted to church.   Are you and I faithful to everything that God entrusted to us?  In God's eyes, being faithful has the meaning of earning more.  May God help us, let us think about how to expand the Kingdom of God in our position in the daily life.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, please help us to think about how to expand your Kingdom in our daily life.  Let us be faithful managers.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!