Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: June 2021

Wednesday, June 30, 2021

Today's Passage - 1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

1 Thessalonians 4:15-18

According to the Lord's own word, we tell you that we who are still alive, who are left till the coming of the Lord, will certainly not precede those who have fallen asleep. For the Lord himself will come down from heaven, with a loud command, with the voice of the archangel and with the trumpet call of God, and the dead in Christ will rise first. After that, we who are still alive and are left will be caught up together with them in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. And so we will be with the Lord forever. Therefore encourage each other with these words.

When the Lord comes again, Paul said, "the dead in Christ will rise first." When Jesus was on the cross, he had two robbers on his side. One of them said, "Remember me when your kingdom comes." The Lord said to him, "Today you will be with me in paradise." Paradise is a place where there is the presence of God. Those who are dead in Christ will be in paradise with the Lord. Luke Chapter 16 tells us about a rich man who was suffering in hell because he did not believe in the Lord. In contrast, Lazarus believed in the Lord and was with God in paradise, enjoying himself.

The resurrection that is referred to here is not saying that one will come back to live, but the transformation of the body. Those who believe in the Lord now will be in paradise after death. Those who do not believe in the Lord will be in hell. When the Lord comes, everyone will be resurrected and will be judged before God's white throne of judgment. The names that are recorded in the lamb's book of life will be with God forever. The names that are not in the book will be banished forever in to the eternal lake of fire in hell. Philippians 3:20 says, "But our citizenship is in heaven. And we eagerly await a Savior from there, the Lord Jesus Christ, who, by the power that enables him to bring everything under his control, will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like his glorious body."

In other words, when the Lord returns, He wants to give us new bodies, like His resurrected body, so that we can be with Him forever. This is the hope we have in Christ Jesus. All the believers who are dead are in paradise, in the arms of the Lord. When the Lord comes again, we will have new bodies, like the resurrected body of Christ, which will last forever. How about for those of us who are still alive? If the Lord returns while we are still alive, we will be caught up in the clouds to meet the Lord in the air. This is the hope we have in Christ. We need to constantly encourage one another so that we do not lose hope. As we have such glorious hope, may the Lord help us to run the race and finish strong.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, I pray you will take away the fear of death from us, knowing that death is not the end, but that we are asleep in Christ and enjoying the presence of Christ; until the day you return and our bodies are transformed into resurrected bodies to be with you forever. This is such glorious hope! May you strengthen our hearts so that we have strength to run towards you and to serve you. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

River of Life Christian Church | office@rolcc.net | ROLCC Website

Tuesday, June 29, 2021

Today's Passage - 1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

1 Thessalonians 4:13-14

Brothers, we do not want you to be ignorant about those who fall asleep, or to grieve like the rest of men, who have no hope. We believe that Jesus died and rose again and so we believe that God will bring with Jesus those who have fallen asleep in him.

We often grieve when faced with death, because we don't understand the true meaning of death. Of course we would be sad when our relatives leave us, for it is a natural reaction; we, however, should not lose hope, because we should be convinced that death doesn't mean an end. Paul has given a new explanation for death in this passage, as verse 14 refers to the dead as "those who have fallen asleep in him." This means life did not end for those who died, but rather just fallen asleep in Christ. When the Lord returns, they will be resurrected, and we will meet them once again, and that is the hope we have in Jesus Christ.

Years ago we attended a conference in Atlanta. During the second day of the conference, a group from Taiwan encountered a major accident, and one of my dear sisters passed away. We felt really sad and we prayed to God: "Lord, why?" Suddenly, God's Spirit reminded me: "Do you really think it's better to be on the earth than in heaven?" We would only ask why if we think they are going to a worse place, right? Therefore, God's Spirit was reminding me that I might be thinking it's better to be on earth than it is to be in heaven. After God opened by thoughts and mind, I fell before Him and said: "Lord, forgive my sin, because I thought it's better to be on earth than to be in heaven. It is wonderful for our sister to be brought to heaven and be close to you, and we ought to envy her!" That's why Paul said later that he'd rather leave the world to be with the Lord.

We often don't understand this truth, and thus we still feel miserable when confronted with death like the non-believers. May God help us to have a glorious hope in Christ. The greatest glory and hope that we have in our life is that one day when we leave the earth, we will get to stand face to face with the Lord, which is going to be a wonderful thing.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, I thank you because in Christ we have such wonderful hope! May you open our eyes and help us understand that this hope is true, so that we won't grieve and be doubtful like the non-believers. Lord, please deliver us from doubt and fear; help us to look at death from a new perspective and let us be closer to you so that your life will be manifested from us. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

River of Life Christian Church | office@rolcc.net | ROLCC Website

Monday, June 28, 2021

Today's Passage - 1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

1 Thessalonians 4:9-12

Now about brotherly love we do not need to write to you, for you yourselves have been taught by God to love each other. And in fact, you do love all the brothers throughout Macedonia. Yet we urge you, brothers, to do so more and more. Make it your ambition to lead a quiet life, to mind your own business and to work with your hands, just as we told you, so that your daily life may win the respect of outsiders and so that you will not be dependent on anybody.

Paul encouraged us to love one another. The best testimony the church can show during the time of persecution is to love one another. Suffering is not scary if there's love during the time of suffering - everyone suffers together and will endure it together! If there's no love while suffering, people will lose their sense of security, which is truly scary thing. Therefore, we must learn to help each other in the church. God actually knows who actually needs help, and who can fulfill those needs; therefore, the Spirit of God will often prompt us to give to those in need. If we follow the prompting of the Spirit, love will naturally flow among us; if we don't, love will cease to flow.

Youth With A Mission a university ministry. Each time the school starts, students will gather with professors to wait for the guidance of the Holy Spirit in order to satisfy their tuition needs. One time a sister needed a hundred dollars to pay tuition, but she only had thirty. She prayed and God's Spirit prompted her to give her thirty to a brother. She followed God and gave out the thirty dollars, and that's exactly how much the brother needed, so he had money to pay his tuition. The sister though, "Lord, now I have nothing and I need one hundred dollars." Then God prompted a professor to give one hundred dollars to this sister, but the professor said "Lord, I want to do this, but I don't have a hundred dollars, so please provide it to me!" At that time, another professor was prompted and gave a hundred dollars to this professor, who said: "praise the Lord, I do need a hundred dollars, because God prompted me earlier to give a hundred dollars to this sister!" They went to the sister together and gave her a hundred dollars; the sister was overjoyed and thanked for God's abundant supply.

When I heard this testimony, my heart was really touched, because that is the kind of testimony that the church needs! God's Spirit will prompt the brothers and sisters in the church to supply for each other's needs. May God help us to learn such a lesson!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, I thank you because you knows all things and you are everywhere. May God help us to have a sensitive and obedient heart; when your Spirit prompts me, let us know how to work with you in love. May the Lord bless us and let the church live out the testimony of providing for one another's need, especially in the time of scarcity like now. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

River of Life Christian Church | office@rolcc.net | ROLCC Website

Sunday, June 27, 2021

Today's Passage - 1 Thessalonians 4:6-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

1 Thessalonians 4:6-8

...And that in this matter no one should wrong his brother or take advantage of him. The Lord will punish men for all such sins, as we have already told you and warned you. For God did not call us to be impure, but to live a holy life. Therefore, he who rejects this instruction does not reject man but God, who gives you his Holy Spirit.

This passage serves as a great reminder for our generation. People are becoming increasingly more open towards sex, but Paul said that "in this matter no one should wrong his brother," which actually refers to extramarital sexual activities. Many couples have premarital sexual relationship, but later on break up before they break up before they get married because of incompatible personalities, which in an irresponsible act. Those who are truly responsible will wait to commit themselves to each other in a marriage relationship and then have a sexual relationship. Paul also said that we shall not take advantage of our brother, because by having premarital sex with someone you've taken away a privilege for her future spouse.

Also, premarital sex will affect your relationship with future spouse. In your memory you would also recall your relationship with previous partners, which will affect the degree of intimacy with your spouse. In fact, every relationship will impact your marriage relationship in the future, and sexual relationship only makes it worse. May God help us to know how to protect our own body.

Extramarital affairs is also a serious issue. The involvement of a third person in a relationship is a unfaithfulness and betrayal towards the spouse. Do not commit such a sin, because God will seek revenge and you will have to bear the consequence of such sin. When God instituted marriage, it is meant for the couple to enjoy the most intimate relationship in their marriage, and to enjoy sharing everything with each other. Therefore, they must commit to one another in the covenant of marriage in order to have true sense of security, and to enjoy the joy and satisfaction in a marriage. Once such covenant and commitment are broken, people will fall into insecurity. Most relationship issues are caused by extreme sense of insecurity, where no one can be totally sure about the level of commitment of others, This will cause many spiritual wounds and broken relationships.

Brothers and sisters, we must understand the devastating result of inappropriate sexual relationship. It can result in broken lives and relationships, even causes structural issues in the society, resulting in many serious issues. We must keep our body as holy and precious in our daily life and stay away from impurity, for it is God will for us to be holy!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, please help us to know how to keep ourselves pure in our daily life, so that we won't commit sins that offend you and offend brothers and sisters. Let us know that it is your will for us to be holy, and to live out the form of God's children. Give us more strength, and forgive us if we are already in such weakness and sin. Grant us your mercy and help us to once again be released and freed. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

River of Life Christian Church | office@rolcc.net | ROLCC Website

Saturday, June 26, 2021

Today's Passage - 1 Thessalonians 4:4-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english

1 Thessalonians 4:4-5

...That each of you should learn to control your own bodyin a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans, who do not know God...

In this passage, Paul asked readers to "control your own body in a way that is holy and honorable, not in passionate lust like the pagans," which laid out two ways to stay holy. First, proactively, we must guard our holy and honorable body. A prince will not do anything unfit for his status, because if he had done anything inappropriate he'd bring shame to his country. Similarly, as Christians we must understand our status as children of God. Once I went to a Christian campsite, and its restrooms have signs that say "Prince" and "Princess" on the doors. I thought these restrooms may not be for ordinary people like me, but then I realized that since this is a Christian campsite, "prince" must be me! As children of God, we are princes and princesses in God's kingdom, hallelujah! It was the first time that I felt strong how precious is my status, as our childhood dream of being a prince has come true! Did you know how precious your status is before God? Your body is the temple of Holy Spirit; Holy Spirit lives in you, and Holy God also lives in you. As soon as you understand how precious is your status, you won't casually sin and disgrace your own body.

Second, reactively, do not have passionate lust like the pagans, which mean do not let evil thoughts grow inside you. Bible says that lust can be conceived and given birth to sin, and sin will grow and lead to death. Sometimes we seem to be living in death, because we allow evil thoughts to conceive inside us. Many people think they've not sinned, but if they didn't do anything sinful, yet allow evil thoughts conceive inside and enjoy the thoughts of lust, then eventually they will be led into adulterous act. Martin Luther once said: "You cannot keep birds from flying over your head, but you can keep them from building a nest in your hair." Evil thoughts may appear in our mind, but we can refuse to let them settle inside us. Let us know how to reject evil thoughts in our daily life, and keep ourselves holy with God's help!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you because we have such precious status before you as prince and princesses in the kingdom of God. May the Lord guard us in our daily life, teach us how to reject the enemy and not to set free our lust, so that we may live out the glorious beauty of Jesus Christ. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

River of Life Christian Church | office@rolcc.net | ROLCC Website