Today's Passage - 1 John 2:28-29

1 John 2:28-29     And now, dear children, continue in him, so that when he appears we may be confident and unashamed before him at his coming. If you know that he is righteous, you know that everyone who does what is right has been born of him. John encouraged us to continue in Him. Why? Because when the Lord appears we may be confident. It is referring to the second coming of Jesus, when He will judge the world. Just think about it. How can we stand firm when we come to this holy and righteous God in the future?     Many people would try to accumulate merits to make up for their previous transgressions. Actually, it is just a way of wishful thinking. One man's merit is what he needs to do after all. No one can redeem his previous sins with merits. Even if he could, who would guarantee that he would never sin again? If he sins, does he have to redeem his sin again with merits? The Bible tells us that Jesus has already become the atonement for our sins and sacrificed once for all, thus obtaining the eternal redemption. In other words, the redemption is once for all. Hallelujah!   Today we can approach the throne of our Heavenly Father with confidence by the precious blood of Jesus, for our sins have been wiped clean by the precious blood of the Lord. 1 John 1:7 tells us that the blood of Jesus purifies us from all the sins on one condition: we have to live inside the Lord. In the original language, "live" means "to stay" or "to keep". Another way to say "inside" is to be connected with the Lord. Just like the parable of vine and branch that the Lord uses in John 15, the branch has to be connected with the vine to get nutrition, so as to not only keep live but also bear fruit.     Likewise, as believers, we also need to remain in the Lord. How? First, we should read the scriptures to live in the Lord. God's Words are the food of our life. When we read God's Words, we are actually nurturing our own spiritual life, so that it can grow, get mature and strong. Secondly, we also need to be connected with the Lord through prayer. Someone once said: "Prayer is the breath of the spirit." We breathe in God's grace and breathe out any unclean thoughts every day, so that we can be renewed. Do you read the scriptures and pray every day? Just imagine your child told you that he was not fed for three days, would you say it is okay? You would immediately take him to the ER and have him checked out. May the Lord help us so that we no longer overlook the needs of our spiritual life, but rather keep connected with the Lord always.            Pray with Pastor Tong Liu   Lord, help us so that we can live in you every day. Give us a hungry heart for your Words. Also give us a hungry spirit so that we can seek your face through prayer every day. May you reveal your presence in our life. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!         Support Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Expansion Project