Daily Devotion with Pastor Tong Liu: March 2021

Wednesday, March 31, 2021

Today's Passage - Acts 14:22-28

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

Acts 14:22-28

"... strengthening the disciples and encouraging them to remain true to the faith. "We must go through many hardships to enter the kingdom of God," they said. Paul and Barnabas appointed elders for them in each church and, with prayer and fasting, committed them to the Lord, in whom they had put their trust. After going through Pisidia, they came into Pamphylia, and when they had preached the word in Perga, they went down to Attalia. From Attalia they sailed back to Antioch, where they had been committed to the grace of God for the work they had now completed. On arriving there, they gathered the church together and reported all that God had done through them and how he had opened the door of faith to the Gentiles. And they stayed there a long time with the disciples."

Verse 22 says that entering the kingdom of God involves many difficulties. This is such a true statement. How is it difficult? Sometimes we face persecution around us. When a person becomes a Christian, they may be persecuted by relatives, friends and people around them. Secondly, they may face other difficulties in life, such as difficulties created by people and also emotional struggles. A Christian needs to be transformed from the inside and learn to deal with interpersonal conflicts and other differences by laying down his or her rights. This is a very difficult thing to do and is causes one to feel they are enduring great suffering.

In order to preach the gospel, Paul endured much suffering. 2 Corinthians Chapter 11 lists all the sufferings that Paul endured, including being physical pain, persecution, being flogged and shipwrecked. However, Paul never complained in the midst of his sufferings. In fact in Philippians 1:19, he says, "For it has been granted to you on behalf of Christ not only to believe on him, but also to suffer for him". To Paul, believing in Jesus goes hand in hand with suffering. When a person becomes a Christian, they must be prepared to go through much difficulty.

Suffering is inevitable in our daily lives. Some people suffer as a result of their own sins while others suffer for things of the world. Some suffer for their parents or their children. Pray that God will help us suffer for the right purpose and that God's grace will be sufficient for us. Let us experience God's power and his grace abundantly each day just as Paul did. May the Lord help us to share the gospel through our lives, so that we may be filled with the joy that comes from heaven!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, even though we often go through suffering, we have joy in our hearts as you are with us. Help us not to lose heart and courage, because nothing can separate us from the love of God. Fill us with your love each day and let us fully depend on you. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Tuesday, March 30, 2021

Today's Passage - Acts 14:19-21

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

Acts 14:19-21

Then some Jews came from Antioch and Iconium and won the crowd over. They stoned Paul and dragged him outside the city, thinking he was dead. But after the disciples had gathered around him, he got up and went back into the city. The next day he and Barnabas left for Derbe. They preached the good news in that city and won a large number of disciples. Then they returned to Lystra, Iconium and Antioch...

There were some Jews in Lystra who were inciting the crowd stones, but they were trying to stone Paul to death. A minute ago, they presented a wreath to him, and immediately afterwards they were trying to stone him. When people refuse to obey the truth, they are crucifying the truth. People like to sit on the fence and claim that "all roads lead to Rome". No matter what you do, you can be saved and everyone is happy. Such a belief is easy to preach and easy for others to accept. Unfortunately, that is not the truth. If the problem of sin is not resolved, how can man come before God and receive his grace? If there is no true repentance, how can we please God? Truth cannot be compromised, and Jesus said clearly in the Bible, " I am the way and the truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me."

When we proclaim the gospel, sometimes we receive a wreath, because people like to exalt the visible. When there was a fruit of your ministry effective, people will praise you, but be careful. A pastor once said, "The praises of people is like perfume. You can smell the fragrance for a bit, but do not drink it." It is not because of you that others are built up and edified. It is all because of God.

On the other hand, we sometimes encounter stones when we preach the gospel. This is the suffering, persecution and even rejection we face when we preach the gospel. When we face these difficulties, may the Lord help us not to lose heart. We see in verse 19 and 20 that Paul was stoned to the point people thought he was dead and dragged him outside the city. In verse 20, the disciples gathered around him. I believe that they were praying for him and laying hands on him. As a result, God's healing came upon Paul and Paul stood up immediately and returned to the city to preach the gospel. Pray that God will strengthen our faith and help us not to be discouraged, so that we may move forward with courage and accomplish the great commission that is entrusted to us!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you for the example that Paul set for us. We pray you will help us to discern daily whether something is a wreath or a stone. Give us courage each day so we may not fear the threats of the enemy. We pray that you grant us the grace to be a witness for your glorious beauty. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

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Monday, March 29, 2021

Today's Passage - Acts 14:11-18

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

Acts 14:11-18

When the crowd saw what Paul had done, they shouted in the Lycaonian language, "The gods have come down to us in human form!" Barnabas they called Zeus, and Paul they called Hermes because he was the chief speaker. The priest of Zeus, whose temple was just outside the city, brought bulls and wreaths to the city gates because he and the crowd wanted to offer sacrifices to them. But when the apostles Barnabas and Paul heard of this, they tore their clothes and rushed out into the crowd, shouting: "Men, why are you doing this? We too are only men, human like you. We are bringing you good news, telling you to turn from these worthless things to the living God, who made heaven and earth and sea and everything in them. ...He provides you with plenty of food and fills your hearts with joy." Even with these words, they had difficulty keeping the crowd from sacrificing to them.

When the people of Lystra saw the miracles that Paul performed, they were excited and they fully believed in them, but they didn't truly know and worship God. They wanted to use their own ways and system to explain the miracles. On the surface it looked like they accepted the evangelists, but in fact they rejected the gospel. Many people who sought after God with a preconceived notion, so they only wanted to hear what they wanted to hear and do what they wanted to do, but they don't really want to obey God and follow Him. They would bring wreaths to everything except to the true God. Many also like to bring wreath to signs and wonders, just like people of Lystra. They liked to watch miracles and welcomed those who performed the miracles, but they don't want the salvation and word of God.

When Jesus was on earth, many people followed Him; when He performed the miracle of feeding five thousand with five loaves and two fish, they wanted to install Him as the king. Wasn't Jesus supposed to be the king of the world? But the Bible told us that Jesus didn't hand Himself to these people because He knew they just wanted to be fed instead of seriously following Him. Later on, when Jesus took on the path of suffering, these people couldn't follow Him anymore; some left Him and some even turned around and persecuted Him.

Others, especially those who are educated, would bring wreaths to rationality; we like to fit God into our ideologies, as if we are greater than God. We are not advocating being superstitious here, for our God is the most rational and logical being; however, the rationality of God should never be limited by the rationality of human beings. The Bible says that God's wisdom is higher than our wisdom and God's way is higher than our way, so we must humble ourselves if we want to truly know God!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, please help us not to be like people of Lystra at that time, who would bring wreaths to many things. May the light of the Holy Spirit shine upon us so that we can see the darkness and idols inside us, and may the Lord remove all of them so that we would simply turn back to our true God. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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

Sunday, March 28, 2021

Today's Passage - Acts 14:1-10

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

Acts 14:1-10

At Iconium Paul and Barnabas went as usual into the Jewish synagogue. There they spoke so effectively that a great number of Jews and Gentiles believed... The people of the city were divided; some sided with the Jews, others with the apostles. There was a plot afoot among the Gentiles and Jews, together with their leaders, to mistreat them and stone them. But they found out about it and fled to the Lycaonian cities of Lystra and Derbe and to the surrounding country, where they continued to preach the good news. In Lystra there sat a man crippled in his feet, who was lame from birth and had never walked. He listened to Paul as he was speaking. Paul looked directly at him, saw that he had faith to be healed and called out, "Stand up on your feet!" At that, the man jumped up and began to walk.

If we have enjoyed the benefits of the gospel, then we must come before God everyday to receive His grace. The Bible teaches us that "without faith it is impossible to please God, because anyone who comes to him must believe that he exists and that he rewards those who earnestly seek him." Paul and Barnabas were preaching at Lystra, and a man who was cripples and lame since birth was listening to them too. He never thought that he would be healed because he had been lame for so long and he was born with the disability. On that day, he heard that there's a God who created all things in the universe and who prepared a plan of salvation after human beings committed sin, and that God let His beloved son Jesus Christ die on the cross to take on the penalty of sin on behalf of all mankind. He then heard that those who believed in Jesus could be set free from sin, and God was also happy to heal those who are brokenhearted and sick, and make them whole again. When he heard Paul telling him, "stand up on your feet," without any hesitation he jumped up and started walking, and he was completely healed!

Is our life crippled in any way? Paul said that "for what I do is not the good I want to do; no, the evil I do not want to do - this I keep on doing." We know what's right and wrong, but we are unable to live by the rules. Many Christians are suffering from the fact that they are not bearing fruit in their life, and that's because they've never experienced the power of the gospel. When we come before God by faith, however, and believe in His words and promises - not just agree with them rationally - and fully embrace them in our lives, we will be set free by the power of the gospel. May the power of the gospel be manifested in our lives today!

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, we thank you because not only have you saved our souls, you are also able to set us free and heal our bodies. Today, no matter how broken our life is, we can come before you and look upon you by faith. May the grace of God come upon each and everyone who has read this message. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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

Saturday, March 27, 2021

Today's Passage - Acts 13:44-52

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

Acts 13:42-52

...Then Paul and Barnabas answered them boldly: "We had to speak the word of God to you first. Since you reject it and do not consider yourselves worthy of eternal life, we now turn to the Gentiles. For this is what the Lord has commanded us: 'I have made you a light for the Gentiles, that you may bring salvation to the ends of the earth.' When the Gentiles heard this, they were glad and honored the word of the Lord; and all who were appointed for eternal life believed. The word of the Lord spread through the whole region...

"All who were appointed for eternal life believed" is an intriguing statement. Many have used this passage to explain predestination of salvation; however, if we study its context carefully, we'd see that "all who were appointed for eternal life" is not referring to individuals, but a group of people. Paul wanted to emphasize that salvation has been given to both Jews and gentiles; the Jews, however, exercised their free will and chose to reject God, and thus salvation came upon the gentiles. Paul was saying that God's salvation didn't come upon the gentiles because the Jews rejected it, but the gentiles have always been predestined to receive salvation.

Since the creation of the world, salvation has never been exclusively for the Israelites. When God blessed Abraham, it was clear that He promised Abraham that His offspring will bless all nations and all people. According to Book of Galatians, the "offspring" doesn't just refer to the nation of Israel, but rather to Jesus Christ, and also to all new creations in Christ. It means that everyone in Christ belongs to Abraham as his offspring, thus the gentiles have always been in the plan of God's salvation.

Moreover, the Jews exercised their free will to refuse the way of the Lord. Gospel was given to the Jews, but the Jews as a group rejected the gospel, and therefore God made his grace available to the gentiles. God never predestined the Jews to not be saved, but it was the Jews who decided to harden their hearts and refused to repent, and thus they could not enjoy all the blessings that God prepared for them. God already knew that would happen, so in His eternal plan of salvation He had included the gentiles, which was truly precious. God also sent Paul to become the light for the gentiles so that salvation can reach the ends of the earth.

Pray with Pastor Tong

Lord, I thank you once again because you knew that we will be saved before creation of the earth, and it's truly precious for us to know that. May the Spirit of the Lord help us to understand such grace, be thankful about it, and receive it joyfully, because we know that we are already in your heart. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

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