Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: Today's Passage

1 Corinthians 15:1-4

Now, brothers, I want to remind you of the gospel I preached to you, which you received and on which you have taken your stand. By this gospel you are saved, if you hold firmly to the word I preached to you. Otherwise, you have believed in vain. For what I received I passed on to you as of first importance: that Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures, that he was buried, that he was raised on the third day according to the Scriptures...

There is a famous painting of a man and the devil playing a game of chess, in which the devil had forced the man into a corner. The label on the painting says "Checkmate". Those who have seen this painting typically can identify with it with a big sigh. Once a famous chess player stood before the painting for a long time, and suddenly he exclaimed, "This is a lie! This game has not yet ended. We still have hope of winning!" This truly is the hope of Resurrection Sunday - that God has given us the hope of victory.

The Jesus we believe in is not one who is dead in the grave. He has risen from the dead, and because He is risen, He has overcome the power of sin over our lives and has given us a new life. This new life comes from God and is a life that is connected to God. As such, in our everyday lives, we can experience God's presence. The greatest peace and joy that Christians have is that God is with us. Hence the really important question is not about our circumstances, but whether we have the presence of God in our lives. Just as the worship song goes: With the Lord's presence it is heaven, although we may be in darkness, there is light; In the midst of disappointment and setbacks, we have hope and courage. In times of trouble, we are comforted. Even when we face death, we know we have eternal life.

Unfortunately, many times we are like the disciples and women during Jesus time. We try to find Jesus in the grave. We are familiar with the truth of the resurrection, and we know about God's promise to be with us. However, this truth has not been sinking into our hearts. Every Sunday when we come before God, we love to hear the worship team sing and listen to the pastor's sermon, but when we go home, as we face our circumstances on our own, we forget God's promises. May God have mercy on us, and help us really understand what the Bible says, to truly believe that Jesus lives and that He can bring us the power of victory.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, once again we thank you because our faith is active and based on the resurrection of our Savior. We praise you and adore you. May the power of your resurrection fill us, so that we can overcome the attacks from our environment, and experience your faithfulness. We thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!