Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: January 2022

Monday, January 31, 2022

Today's Passage - Matthew 15:10-20

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

Matthew 15:10-20

Jesus called the crowd to him and said, "Listen and understand. What goes into someone's mouth does not defile them, but what comes out of their mouth, that is what defiles them." Then the disciples came to him and asked, "Do you know that the Pharisees were offended when they heard this?" He replied, "Every plant that my heavenly Father has not planted will be pulled up by the roots. Leave them; they are blind guides. If the blind lead the blind, both will fall into a pit." Peter said, "Explain the parable to us." "Are you still so dull?" Jesus asked them. "Don't you see that whatever enters the mouth goes into the stomach and then out of the body? But the things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them...

Our problem today is not with what's on the outside, but rather what inside our soul. People like to use all kinds of ways to cover the ugliness inside, but whatever is inside us will inadvertently be expressed on the outside through our words and behavior. Pharisees value the law of the outside, and they strived to help people not to violate the law. A person can follow each word of the law on the outside, but it doesn't mean he obeys God inside his heart. We may end up becoming self-righteous because we're following the law. We may even make law based on our experience and ask others to follow. When others don't follow our ways, we condemn them. Law is supposed to be a good thing, but because of our self-centeredness law became an excuse to condemn each other.

In addition, we often gossip behind people. Sometimes it's just casual chatting, but sometime we intentionally want to hurt others. Sometimes it's from jealousy, but it could also come out from bitterness. Therefore, when we are complaining about other brothers and sisters, we need to think about our motivation: Are we really doing it for the benefit of the church, or is it just because of our sinful desires? We need to examine ourselves, so that the life of Jesus Christ in us would not be hindered by our bitterness inside. The most important thing in life is not what we eat or what we wear, so don't waste anytime debating about the things on the outside. The most important thing is always the condition of your heart, because what fills you inside will be revealed in your words and behavior in your daily life. James 3:9-10 says "With the tongue we praise our Lord and Father, and with it we curse human beings, who have been made in God's likeness. Out of the same mouth come praise and cursing. My brothers and sisters, this should not be."

May God's Spirit examine our hearts and shine His light into us, so that we would know whether our words are pleasing God, because the Lord clearly says here that "things that come out of a person's mouth come from the heart, and these defile them." May God help us to cleanse our mouths, and most importantly to come before God with a clean heart.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, please examine our heart and mind, and see whether we have any hidden bitterness or hatred. May the Lord's Spirit shine upon us and cleanse us with your precious blood. Let us once again be cleansed and accepted by you, and let the words from our mouth please you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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

Sunday, January 30, 2022

Today's Passage - Matthew 15:1-9

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

Matthew 15:1-9

Then some Pharisees and teachers of the law came to Jesus from Jerusalem and asked, "Why do your disciples break the tradition of the elders? They don't wash their hands before they eat! Jesus replied, "And why do you break the command of God for the sake of your tradition? For God said, 'Honor your father and mother' and 'Anyone who curses their father or mother is to be put to death. But you say that if anyone declares that what might have been used to help their father or mother is 'devoted to God,' they are not to 'honor their father or mother' with it. Thus you nullify the word of God for the sake of your tradition. You hypocrites! Isaiah was right when he prophesied about you: 'These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules.'"

Back in the old days, the Pharisees were upright and disciplined in their behavior, and they were well-respected. They took on leadership roles in both the religious and secular communities. Jesus, however, often rebuked them, because they replace God's will with heritage and law that were made by people. They liked to teach people to follow the law, but hinder people from coming before God; they value the details of law but overlook the fact that the entirety of the law was to draw people to love the Lord.

In this passage, the Lord mentioned two things. First, He talked about washing the hands. To the Pharisees, washing the hands before eating became a law. They value cleanness on the outside, but overlooked the cleanness of the heart; they appeared to follow the law on the outside, but their hearts have departed from God. Not only were they like that, they also encouraged others to do the same. Therefore, the Lord rebuked them: "These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me." Second, the Lord talked about supporting the parents. In the Old Testament law, people have the responsibility of supporting their parents. So, what happens if you don't want to support your parents? Pharisees came up with a way - They allow people to put their money in the temple, so that they can tell their parents that they have already offered their money to the temple and have nothing left for their parents. The money will later be returned to those people. This way, temple always has funds to operate and those people would not commit a sin. When they were operating this way, however, they have already lost the merciful heart of God, and that's why the Lord rebuked the Pharisees so intensely.

In your life, are you also bound by the spirit of Pharisees? For the sake of the Lord, are you willing to put down the baggage of all your traditions and let the Lord perform the work of renewal in your heart? The church today can easily make the same mistake in our midst as the Pharisees did. May God help us to get rid of the spirit of hypocrisy. In our daily life, let us follow God's will from the bottom of our hearts; put down the old me and humbly follow the guidance of God!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you, and we ask that your Spirit moves freely in our hearts. Let us never be bound by the spirit of Pharisees, and let us be renewed by you again and again in your love and in Christ so that we may enjoy true freedom our spirit. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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

Saturday, January 29, 2022

Today's Passage - Matthew 14:34-36

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

Matthew 14:34-36

When they had crossed over, they landed at Gennesaret. And when the men of that place recognized Jesus, they sent word to all the surrounding country. People brought all their sick to him and begged him to let the sick just touch the edge of his cloak, and all who touched it were healed.

This passage says that "the men of that place recognized Jesus..." When a person has needs, he will seek for answers. When a person recognizes the authority of the Lord, he will come close to the Lord and let the Lord touch him. Once they recognized Jesus, these people in need went around and spread the news, and the sick were carried to Jesus. They probably told the people in their neighborhood, "Jesus can heal the sick! Hurry up and come!" Some people had great faith as they come before God; they even believed that as long as they could touch the Lord, their illnesses will be healed. We can then imagine scene of excitement and faith when the sick were indeed healed upon touching Jesus! They had a simple faith, and such faith was pleasing to the Lord. On the contrary, when the disciples were at sea, they were paddling the boat with great effort, so the Lord walked on the sea towards them to help then. The disciples could not recognize Jesus and though He was a ghost, so they panicked. The contrast was startling! The disciples couldn't recognized the Lord and thus they panicked in the storms; the crowd recognized Jesus and they went near the Lord, and their illnesses were healed.

The disciples followed Jesus daily, and they had gathering after gathering, but they couldn't recognize the Lord; the crowd, on the other hand, recognized Jesus immediately and ran to follow Him, because they had simple faith. The disciples were paddling the boat by their own might, and they never thought that the Lord would help them. They knew that the Lord could use five loaves and two fish to feed five thousand people, but they didn't think He could also walk on the sea. The crowd, however, simply believed that Jesus was the Lord who could save them, so they went and sought Jesus, and the Lord healing came upon them.

Can you recognize the Lord who's with you? Do you long for Him and are you seeking Him? May the Spirit of Lord open our eyes so that we can recognize the love, mercy and omnipotence of the Lord, and also recognize that He is our Lord. He's the savior who can heal us; when we bring our heavy burdens before Him and look upon Him in simple faith, the Spirit of God can come upon us to perform the work of healing. May the Lord give us an eager heart to come before Him!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, please forgive us because our eyesight is often like the disciples; we can see you, but we don't recognize you. May you have mercy on us, help us to see that you are the Lord in the midst of our storms. We ask that you reveal your true presence to us and renew our strength. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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

Friday, January 28, 2022

Today's Passage - Matthew 14:22-33

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

Matthew 14:22-33

...Shortly before dawn Jesus went out to them, walking on the lake. When the disciples saw him walking on the lake, they were terrified. "It's a ghost," they said, and cried out in fear. But Jesus immediately said to them: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." "Lord, if it's you," Peter replied, "tell me to come to you on the water." "Come," he said. Then Peter got down out of the boat, walked on the water and came toward Jesus. But when he saw the wind, he was afraid and, beginning to sink, cried out, "Lord, save me!" Immediately Jesus reached out his hand and caught him. "You of little faith," he said, "why did you doubt?" And when they climbed into the boat, the wind died down...

After the miracle of five loaves and two fish, we could imagine what the crowd was thinking: "Wow, this guy is pretty awesome, he could feed five thousand people just like that!" They naturally wanted to follow Jesus and establish Him as the king. At that time, Jesus left them and went up to the mountain to quiet down and pray. Jesus knew how to pray; He could be intimate with God through prayer any time and any place, especially after performing such a wonderful miracle. Human beings by nature will feel complacent after we become successful; however, Jesus immediately humbled Himself, went before Father God and gave God all the glory. Actually, all the power, wisdom and abundance come from God, and Jesus set the best example for us.

After the Lord prayed, He saw the disciples paddling the boat and they were exhausted, so He walked on the sea towards the disciples. Because the Lord is God, it was a natural thing for Him to do since He is the master of the universe; to the disciples, however, they saw whoever walking on the sea must be a ghost. The Lord then said to the disciples: ""Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." This is such a comforting word! Once the Lord boarded the boat, the wind stopped. No matter what kind of storm you are encountering in your life, don't forget that Jesus is always the master over the wind and wave. He sees your worries in the midst of your storm, and knows your fear and anxiety, but He will walk towards you on the sea in the midst of your storm! Sometimes you might be scared and not know what the Lord will do, but the Lord wants to tell you: "Take courage! It is I. Don't be afraid." Lord will calm the wind and wave for you, and He will become your help and strength.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, please open our eyes and let us see that you are the Lord over wind and wave. May the Lord remove any fear in our heart and let us solely depend on you. Please rebuke the storms in our lives and calm them down. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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

Thursday, January 27, 2022

Today's Passage - Matthew 14:16-21

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

Matthew 14:16-21

Jesus replied, "They do not need to go away. You give them something to eat." "We have here only five loaves of bread and two fish," they answered. "Bring them here to me," he said. And he directed the people to sit down on the grass. Taking the five loaves and the two fish and looking up to heaven, he gave thanks and broke the loaves. Then he gave them to the disciples, and the disciples gave them to the people. They all ate and were satisfied, and the disciples picked up twelve basketfuls of broken pieces that were left over. The number of those who ate was about five thousand men, besides women and children.

Verse 16 says, "You give them something to eat." This is the Lord's command to the disciples. Why did he say that? John 6:6 explains that the Lord said that in order to test the disciples. The Lord wanted to test the disciples on the lesson of obedience. Can we still have faith, not based on what we are seeing, but by being obedient to God's command in situations where people all think it is impossible, and to put forth what we have for Him to use? If so, God can use what we bring to him and turn them into miracles.

God asked Abraham to bring Isaac to Mt Moriah because God wanted to test Abraham. God allowed Israelis to wander in the desert for forty year to test them as well. Today, we need to have keen sense to God's test. When God place us at a junction of our lives, we won't be able to see the road ahead. It is imperative that we fixate on God. We should go forward without fear following God's will based on faith, not what we see. You will find that after turning a corner, God's abundant supplies are right in front of you. In this miracle, we see that God is indeed abundant. Even the leftover are twelve baskets. If you ask me how to turn five loaves of bread and two fish into twelve basketfuls, I can only say that I do not know; however, what I do know is that to have twelve baskets full of leftovers, we need to first put forth five loaves of bread and two fish to God!

What is your five loaves of bread and two fish? Sometimes you feel that's all you have, and how could the Lord take them away? We don't understand that God may actually be testing us. Do you want to have a life full of miracles? Start learning to live a life of faith today! May we be sensitive to God's test in our daily lives and respond with faith. Let us lean on God closely and be obedient to His word so that we will experience miracles!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you, because you are a God of miracles. May the Lord help us so that we live our daily lives by faith and not by what we see, because believing in seeing results in death, but living by faith actually saves. May the Spirit of God lift us up so that we can follow God's guidance in our daily lives on matters big and small, and live a glorious life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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