Today's Passage - Romans 1:8-12

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 1:8-12   "First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is being reported all over the world. God, whom I serve in my spirit in preaching the gospel of his Son, is my witness how constantly I remember you in my prayers at all times; and I pray that now at last by God's will the way may be opened for me to come to you. I long to see you so that I may impart to you some spiritual gift to make you strong- that is, that you and I may be mutually encouraged by each other's faith." Paul was a person that knew how to care for the church. Although he had never been to Rome prior to writing the Book of Romans, he had the urgency in his heart. His caring for the church really set a good example for us. First, he was praying for the saints and thanking God for them all the times. In the Book of Romans, Paul mentioned for many times "you are my joy". He was a person that could share his worry and joy with others, mainly because he was a intercessor. He even said in verse 9 that God could be his witness how constantly he remembered brothers and sisters in his prayers at all times. Only intercession before God can truly connect our lives with those of the brothers and sisters. When some brother or sister thanks God for answering the prayer, how would you feel if you never prayed for that person? On the other hand, if youhave prayed for that person, when you hear his testimony, you will say: "Hallelujah. Praise the Lord", since you have shared with him "the pains of childbirth". Secondly, he was ready to impart to others theSpiritual gift. Paul was ready to share God's grace with others, unlike Chinese people who always keep something good to themselves. This attitude of "keeping something good to oneself" often becomes the greatest obstacle in our life of faith. Due to our reservation, our relationship with brothers and sisters gets compromised, too. Paul, on the other hand, was ready to share God's grace with others. He was a person that truly understood what grace was, so he wouldn't keep all the grace to himself. As a result, the more he gave, the more he received from God.   Thirdly, by staying away from being an ignorant person,he and other believers were mutually encouraged from each other's faith.  Just like what was described in the Book of James, many believers have no pity on others, but try to control others. They end up falling into the trap of complacency. We should always be considerate for others, so that we won't be self-centered all the time. In fact, God wants us to provide comfort for others. When you are led by the Holy Spirit, don't hesitate. Just bravely go and provide support for others. Maybe you are the only comfort God sends to that brother or sister.                                                                          Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, help us become someone that intercedes, is ready to impart grace to others and gets mutually encouraged with others. We pray that the Spirit gives us not only a sensitive heart to get aware of the needs around us, but also a brave heart to bring care to others. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 1:5-7

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 1:5-7   "Through him we received grace and apostleship to call all the Gentiles to the obedience that comes from faith for his name's sake. And you also are among those Gentiles who are called to belong to Jesus Christ. To all in Rome who are loved by God and called to be his holy people: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and from the Lord Jesus Christ."   We are called to belong to Jesus Christ, which is our title as Christians. In this generation it is very popular for people to carry their business cards around which not only present names but titles such as general manager, engineer, secretary, pastor or evangelist as well.  However, very few people would add onto their business cards such a line as "called to belong to Jesus Christ", or as written in verse 7 "called to be His holy people", which is actually our true title. In fact, this title is above all other titles, because one's title on earth is always changing. Today you may be a staff member, but tomorrow you may become a manager. Nevertheless, your title as "called to be His holy people" never changes.        This also corresponds to what Paul meant in verse 5 "through him we received grace and apostleship". We first received grace, then apostleship. We are first His holy people, then his apostles. We first belong to Christ, then we receive the assignment. This truth once again reminds us of the preciousness of our title as His holy people. Sometimes we only think of our assignment and how we should work for God, while overlooking our title as God's children. That explains why it is getting harder and harder for us to be Christians, even to a point that there is more hardship than joy for us, for we only think of endless ministries. In fact, God expects us to first enjoy His love, therefore Paul talked about "all who are loved by God and called to be his holy people". We are loved by God and called to be His holy people first, then to be his apostles. Love comes first, then followed by assignment. This order or priority is very important. Only in love, your ministry will never become a formality; you will never be too discouraged to pray; you can run from strength to strength. Are you feeling tired from running in your ministry? Let's turn back to the Lord to readjust the priority in our lives so that we can experience once again His love. May His love renew us as well.                                                                          Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you because you love us first so we may belong to you. Your love never changes. Many times we were so busy in our ministries that we became unaware of your love. May the Lord turn us back to You. May your love renew us once again. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen.

Today's Passage - Romans 1:2-4

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 1:2-4   "...The gospel he promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures regarding his Son, who as to his human nature was a descendant of David, and who through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord."   Paul mentioned three things about the gospel: First, the gospel was "promised beforehand through his prophets in the Holy Scriptures."  It didn't suddenly come down from the sky and it wasn't invented by someone; the gospel of Jesus Christ was established on the foundation of the entire history of salvation of mankind.  The Old Testament is still very important because it is the foundation of New Testament.  We cannot understand the New Testament without the Old Testament, and after you read the Old Testament you will better understand the meaning of New Testament.   Second, the gospel is about the Son of God, Jesus Christ.  Physically speaking, Jesus is a descendent of David, which demonstrates His human nature.  We often talk about Jesus as our Lord, but neglect the fact that our savior was also completely human.  Not only is He the Lord who's sitting on the throne, He was also a man.  In fact, Jesus had to be a man so that He could identify with our pain and also take on the punishment of sin from God on our behalf.  Hebrews 4:15 says: "For we do not have a high priest who is unable to sympathize with our weaknesses, but we have one who has been tempted in every way, just as we are - yet was without sin."  Because He was completely human, He could sympathize with our weaknesses; there's no burden that He could not carry and no suffering that He could not bear.  In our daily life, no matter what kind of difficulties you encounter, as soon as you come before His throne of grace, there's nothing He can't bear.  You just need to come before Him in prayer, and He will give you strength and help you any time.   Third, the Gospel is about Jesus whom, "through the Spirit of holiness was declared with power to be the Son of God by his resurrection from the dead: Jesus Christ our Lord," and this demonstrates His divinity.  Not only can Jesus sympathize with our weaknesses, He is also the Son of God who is a savior with no sin.  Only He could take our place in death and be resurrected from death, proving that He is the Savior who can bring us hope to overcome sin.  When we accept the gospel, not only do we accept a theory, but we also accept a life which was resurrected from death and a life that is victorious and real.  Let us thank God for this new life!                                                                          Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because not only you are our savior and you are also our victorious general.  We can fearlessly bring all our burden and hardship to your hands, because on the cross you already took on all our pain, and on your throne you have released us from all our bondages.  We thank you for such a precious gospel!  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 1:1

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 1:1   "Paul, a servant of Christ Jesus, called to be an apostle and set apart for the gospel of God..."   The Book of Romans is a treasury box filled with the truth.  Martin Luther has once described it as the path that leads to heaven, and John Wesley said that his heart went on fire when he read the book.  Indeed, the truth spelled out in the Book of Romans shows us the way to be born again, become victorious and eventually receive glory.  Paul first called himself "servant of Christ Jesus" because we were redeemed by Christ at a great price.  We used to be servants of sin, but because we were redeemed by Christ so that we would not do whatever we wish, we have become servants of the Lord.  Pastors are just servants of God, not because we are better, but it's only possible by the grace of God.  In such grace, we shall not forget that we are the servants of the Lord and we should live by the will of the Lord.   Next, Paul said that he was "called to be an apostle," and the calling came from God.  In fact, each of us is called by God's grace even though we take on different roles, and that's why the Bible often calls us saints who are called by God.  To Paul, his calling was to become an apostle; some might have been called by God to serve Him on his job, to enter full-time ministry, to become a lay minister, or to be a housewife.  No matter what you do, you must do it as if you are responding to God's calling, and your life will be different.  A housewife gave the testimony on how she posted a note in front of the range hood - "I serve the Lord here three times a day."  She genuinely understood the concept of calling.   Do you know that you are called by the grace of God?  Once you remember this truth, you life will be turned around.  When you know you are called to be an usher, you will be a different usher; when you know you are called to teach your children, your family's atmosphere will be turned around.  Brothers and sisters, are you willing to live like one who is called by God starting today?                                                                          Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you for being the Lord who is graceful and merciful.  Please open my heart so that I may understand how precious your calling is.  I also ask the Lord to help me live like someone who's called, and let me manifest the grace of your calling in everything I do.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 6:23-24

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 6:23-24   "Peace to the brothers, and love with faith from God the Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.  Grace to all who love our Lord Jesus Christ with an undying love."   At the end of each epistle written by Paul, he always wrote some words of blessing to the brothers and sisters.  Every believer should practice to do the same - Saying words of blessing to someone everyday.  One sister testified that every morning she would say to her husband a word of blessing on his work.  Her husband wasn't a believer yet, but he received words of blessing every morning and he eventually became a Christian.  I believe that those words of blessing became accumulated grace that came upon her husband.  In fact, everyone around us needs the word of Christ.  For a while, the outgoing message on our answering machine at home was "Jesus loves you" recorded by our children.  Many have told me that they were touched by those words because they've not heard it for a while, and such a simple word has given them momentum for life.   We need to say words of blessing to each other at the church.  Whenever I ask brothers and sisters to each "Jesus loves you" to one another, some will start weeping, because that's exactly what they need to hear.  We need to learn from Paul and often say words of blessing to others.  Not just to bless people around us, but also pray for our enemies as taught by the Bible.  Mathew 5:44 says: "Love your enemies and pray for those who persecute you..."  Thank God that He didn't force us to feel love for our enemies, but He simply wants us to pray for those who persecute us.  Not to pray and ask God to curse them, but to ask God to bless them.   When you say words of blessing, you won't be speaking words of curse.  When you obey God and follow the word of God in your life, grace of God and power of the Holy Spirit will come upon you, and you will be delivered from any bitterness deep down inside.  We need to practice saying words of blessing to others in our daily life, so that we are always choosing to bless and to undo any curse and mistakes we've made in the past.  Let us start learning now to become a blessing to others!                                                                          Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, in your name I bless each brother and sister, that they will become blessings to others.  Let them speak words of blessings, edification and thanksgiving, and make them channel for blessing for rest of their life.  I thank you and I pray for the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 6:21-22

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 6:21-22   "Tychicus, the dear brother and faithful servant in the Lord, will tell you everything, so that you also may know how I am and what I am doing. I am sending him to you for this very purpose, that you may know how we are, and that he may encourage you."   Paul really knew how to encourage and comfort others. He knew that the Ephesian church really cared about him, so he sent Tychicus to their midst to encourage and comfort them. Such comforting in the Lord is one of the virtues that the church today really needs to restore. Nowadays, it's hard to have a true friend who can comfort each other. The typical friendship today is like the relationship between Job and his three children. Not only that they didn't comfort Job when he was in despair, they actually made Job feel worse by admonishing him. Therefore, Job said later that if anyone's is in despair and has forsaken God, his friends ought to treat him with love and grace. When a person is in despair, real friends can bring comfort. In our daily life, do we see many people in trouble and despair? Are you truly comforting them? We don't need to look far, because even inside the church there are many who are in despair and misery. Did we comfort them in the Lord in love?   So how should we comfort others? First of all, we need to sense how others are feeling. When a child is growing up, when would they know how to comfort the parents? No matter how old they are, some of them will never be able to comfort their parents, because they can never sense the feeling of their parents. Sensing their feeling doesn't mean we agree with their view or we must do they expect us to. When we sense what others feel, we make them feel respected and understood, because people don't need another set of rules or expectations, but they just want to be understood and accepted.   Next, when we comfort others, we must care for them with action. If we sense their feeling but never express our understanding to them, they will never be comforted by us. Real caring doesn't take major actions, sometimes a quick call, a little car, or a visitation can comfort others far more than you can imagine. This scripture passage talked about how Paul and brothers and sisters at the Ephesian church cared for one another during a time when transportation was extremely scarce. Living in the information age, when all channels of communication is well-developed, we have no reason not to express our care for others with action. Are there people who need to be cared for around you? All we need is the determination to take action, and we will bring forth the momentum of love in our daily life.                                                                            Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please open our eyes and see those around us who are in need. Send me out to the people so that I may spread the love of Christ among them. Remind me right now to share your love through action through a phone call, a greeting card or a home visit. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 6:18-20

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 6:18-20   "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.  Pray also for me, that whenever I open my mouth, words may be given me so that I will fearlessly make known the mystery of the gospel, for which I am an ambassador in chains. Pray that I may declare it fearlessly, as I should."   Paul wrote here about the principles of prayer.  First, we need to "pray in the Spirit."  Praying is not just to bring what's in our heart before God, but more importantly we need to listen to the voice of Holy Spirit so that He will lead us to pray according to the will of God.  When we come before God to pray, we first need to ask, "Lord, what would you like me to pray for?"  We should listen and sense what God wants us to pray for, and then as the second question: "Lord, how would you like me to pray for it?"  With an attitude of listening, we will not end up merely asking for what we want.  Our prayer can only touch the heart of the Father God when we pray in the Holy Spirit.   Next, we need to pray "on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests."  Not only in prayer meeting or church, we should pray on all occasions.  When someone has a need, we should pray for it immediately.  We often hear people say in the church: "Please pray for this thing for me," and we'd say "sure," but then we forget about the prayer request when we get home.  It's best to pray for someone immediately when the person raises a prayer request.  If we are on the phone, when someone says "please pray for me on something," we often forget about it after we hang up the phone.  It's better if we pray for him on the phone immediately.  We also need to do "all kinds of prayers," not just to pray silently.  If our silent prayer doesn't seem to reach God, we should pray out loud; if praying out loud doesn't seem to be effective, we need to proclaim in prayer, fast and pray or even pray overtime.  We should be open to all kinds of prayer, not just silent prayer.   Third, we need to "be alert and always keep on praying."  Praying needs to be persistent, for the Bible taught us to pray continuously and consistently.  We need to pray with alertness until God's will is accomplished.   Lastly, we need for pray for all saints.  When the Holy Spirit starts working, warfare will be more fierce, and the first target of attack by the devil is usually the servants of God.  We might think that pastors are supposed to be strong and mighty, but we often are attacked from all directions by the devil and made us fearful and depressed.  May God help us, remember his servants and let us be almighty for the Lord in the battlefield of spiritual warfare.                                                                          Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please help us to become men and women of prayer.  In our daily, not only bring all kinds of need before you, but also give us a listening ear so that we can pray in the Holy Spirit on all occasions and for all requests with persistence. so that will of the Lord can be completed in us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 6:16-17

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 6: 16-17   "In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God."                  The fourth piece of spiritual armor is to take up the shield of faith. Christians must have faith if they want to overcome Satan's attacks, not just a feeble faith, but the enduring faith. Since the most potent attack of the Satan against us is often not the circumstances, but rather when we have doubts about God's faithfulness and mercy. Once doubts creep in, our relationship with God becomes distant, and it becomes impossible to receive more blessings from God. Jesus performed miracles on earth and the people believed; He did not perform that many miracles in Nazareth because the people there did not believe. When we do not believe we cannot see the coming of God's glory; so when it comes to defend against the enemy, we must come before God with strong faith.                   The fifth piece of spiritual armor is to wear the helmet of salvation. The helmet protects the vitals, similarly in Jesus Christ, the gospel can protect us from God's judgment, and to overcome Satan's accusations. For this I need to ask you solemnly: "Are you fully secure of your own salvation?" You may have come to the church for a while, or you may have been baptized, but are you certain that you are saved? If you are not certain, you need to ask the Lord to use His precious blood to cover you, accept Him in your life as your personal Savior, as well as the lord of your life. If you are certain of your salvation, then hold tight to the proof of your salvation and use it to overcome every Satan's accusations.                   The sixth piece of spiritual armor is to carry the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. The work of the Spirit must be in unison with the word of God, and the Spirit must work according to the word of God; not only we have to read the word of God and to follow the work of God, we have to know how to use the word of God. The bible says "once the word of God goes out, it will not return to Him empty," the spirit of God will fulfill His work. Learn to use the word of God as strength in your life, do devotion and study the bible every day, not just doing it in haste for the sake of having read it. Come before God to ask Him to give you a verse that you can hold on and use for today, this becomes your sword of the Spirit, with which you can overcome all the temptations and attacks. As for "the day of evil" in verse 13, it is when the enemy attacks and accuses us, once we take in the word of God, wear the armor of God, then we can resist the enemy and stand our ground.                                                                        Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, thank you, though the enemy often attacks us, in you we have the guarantee of victory. May the Lord help is to wear the full armor every day, to stand our ground in the day of evil, and resisting the enemy. May the Spirit put your words in our hearts so they become our strength. We give thanks and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!