Today's Passage - Luke 1:18-25

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 1:18-25   "Zechariah asked the angel, 'How can I be sure of this? I am an old man and my wife is well along in years.'  The angel answered, 'I am Gabriel. I stand in the presence of God, and I have been sent to speak to you and to tell you this good news.  And now you will be silent and not able to speak until the day this happens, because you did not believe my words, which will come true at their proper time.'   ...After this his wife Elizabeth became pregnant and for five months remained in seclusion.  'The Lord has done this for me,' she said. 'In these days he has shown his favor and taken away my disgrace among the people.'"   People will forget our pleading, but God will never forget.  We might have prayed for some things for a long time and thought that perhaps God will never answer.  Sooner or later we start to forget these things and no longer pray for them, but God will never forget.  We may look away from God, but God will never look away from us; He not only will answer prayers for the Kingdom, but He's willing to accomplish small things in our homes.  In the prayer of Zechariah, we saw that God was willing to accomplish his pleads before God.  Verse 14 says that "He will be a joy and delight to you, and many will rejoice because of his birth."  For many years Elizabeth was unable to face people around her; she took all the blame from the family and was viewed as odd by others, but God removed the humiliation Elizabeth had suffered by answering their prayer.  The time came, God answered her prayer, and her shame was gone.  Our God is full of grace and mercy, for He truly understands the weakness of people, and He's also willing to accomplish what we prayed before Him.   You can bring anything you need in life, whether it's big or small, before God in prayer.  God is willing to listen to your prayer, not just for the purpose of His Kingdom, but also to bring you joy.  He can also remove all the shame from your life.  Hallelujah!  If you sense that you are surrounded by the power of darkness, then in the victorious name of Jesus Christ rebuke all the deception and accusation from enemy Satan.  You can receive God's love today, and enjoy God's grace today!      Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because you are the God who can turn our sorrow into joy, and you can remove all the shame we have in the world.  Come and protect us with your love, because in your love all the shame and fear will be removed, and we can enjoy your abundant grace once again.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!