Today's Passage - Col 1:10-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Colossians 1:10-14   And we pray this in order that you may live a life worthy of the Lord and may please him in every way: bearing fruit in every good work, growing in the knowledge of God, being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might so that you may have great endurance and patience, and joyfully giving thanks to the Father, who has qualified you to share in the inheritance of the saints in the kingdom of light.   Paul has mentioned four things that please God:  "Bearing fruit in every good work."  The good work here doesn't refer to benevolent acts, but according to the Bible it's whatever God wants us to do.  It's to not only listen to the word, but live the word.  Many Christians are great at listening to sermons and study the Bible, but bear no witness in life.  No matter how many sermons they listen to, their life remains unchanged.  The Bible says that if one knows the need to do good deeds but doesn't do it, it becomes a sin.  When you stand on trial before God, God will not ask how many sermons have you listened to, but rather how well have you followed what He asked of you. "Growing in the knowledge of God."  We cannot completely trust God because we do not know Him enough.  When we were kids, we gazed the stars in the sky and sang "twinkle twinkle little stars," but the reality is that many of those little stars are planets far larger than Earth.  When we are self-centered, from our little eyes we think the stars are little.  We cannot trust God because God is so little in our eyes.  In the same way, the prodigal sons misunderstood his father, so he ended up wandering around and couldn't even have the food that pigs ate.  When he turned around, he finally realized that he had misunderstood his father and he suffered unnecessarily.  The more you understand God, the more you will trust me and enjoy His faithfulness and grace. "Being strengthened with all power according to his glorious might."  "All power" and "endurance and patience" might seem to contradict each other, but God's mightiness is best demonstrated when a person can exercise endurance and patience during great suffering.  This is not an easy lesson to learn, and a brother who was suffering once said that "the worst is when God doesn't seem to be doing anything."  Actually, God has never stopped working.  We need to learn to rest in His working hands, because the Bible says that "in quietness and trust is your strength. Keeping a thankful heart.  Give thanks for God for salvation, and also give thanks for brothers and sisters.  When we know how to thank God, we can humble ourselves and be released from our narrow self-centeredness.  Our heart will be at ease and we will be able to enjoy more of God's grace.  Brothers and sisters, are you willing to following these in your life. Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord Jesus, I thank you because you've clearly shown me your will.  I ask that you strengthen me to do all these things, and help me to be committed to following your will.  Let my heart be attracted to know you more so that my life will be filled with love and gratitude towards you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!