Today's Passage - Acts 20:13-20

Acts 20: 13-20   We went on ahead to the ship and sailed for Assos, where we were going to take Paul aboard. He had made this arrangement because he was going there on foot.  When he met us at Assos, we took him aboard and went on to Mitylene.  The next day we set sail from there and arrived off Kios. The day after that we crossed over to Samos, and on the following day arrived at Miletus.  Paul had decided to sail past Ephesus to avoid spending time in the province of Asia, for he was in a hurry to reach Jerusalem, if possible, by the day of Pentecost.  From Miletus, Paul sent to Ephesus for the elders of the church.  When they arrived, he said to them: "You know how I lived the whole time I was with you, from the first day I came into the province of Asia.  I served the Lord with great humility and with tears, although I was severely tested by the plots of the Jews.  You know that I have not hesitated to preach anything that would be helpful to you but have taught you publicly and from house to house.   Wherever Paul goes, he always first finds a group of brothers and sisters to work together with and to provide mutual encouragement and support.  Therefore, before he left Ephesus and was preparing to go to Jerusalem, he gathered the elders whom he worked with for the past three years to encourage one another.  These are people whom Paul lived with and grew together; not only were their lives molded through Paul, Paul's life was also molded by God through them.  God often uses people around us, such as family or brothers and sisters at church, to discipline our lives.  It's the purpose of God to reveal our shortcomings and weaknesses through these relationships and even conflicts.   Some have said that God often places unlovable people around us so that we'd learn how to love, but the reality is that God always places lovable people around us to show us how unlovable we are so that we may turn back to Him to receive more love and virtues from God.  Our physical family shapes our natural life, and in the same way our spiritual family shapes our spiritual life.   Many years ago I was serving with others in a bible study group in Philadelphia.  I was there chairman and there was a coworker in charge of devotions.  One day he called me and told me that I was weak in the spirit.  I was depressed after his call, and I wondered why he could say that I was weak in the spirit.  When I looked back, however, I realized that he was right after all.  I thank the Lord because through all these setbacks my life has become more abundant, and my personality became more cheerful and I became more open-minded.  May the Lord help us, mold our lives so that we may become more like Jesus.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you because your hands are still working in my life.  We give thanks and we surrender ourselves before you.  Please continue to work in our lives so that we become more like Jesus Christ, and may your grace be manifested in our lives.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.

Today's Passage - Acts 20:7-12

Acts 20:7-12   On the first day of the week we came together to break bread. Paul spoke to the people and, because he intended to leave the next day, kept on talking until midnight.  There were many lamps in the upstairs room where we were meeting.  Seated in a window was a young man named Eutychus, who was sinking into a deep sleep as Paul talked on and on. When he was sound asleep, he fell to the ground from the third story and was picked up dead.  Paul went down, threw himself on the young man and put his arms around him. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "He's alive!"  Then he went upstairs again and broke bread and ate. After talking until daylight, he left.  The people took the young man home alive and were greatly comforted.   Paul was preparing to leave, but the brothers and sisters there didn't want him to go, so they surrounded Paul and he started preaching.  Perhaps it was his last word, because he spoke from evening and dawn.  A young man named Eutychus fell asleep and fell to the ground to death.  Paul went down to hold and pray for him, and the Holy Spirit worked on the boy to bring him back to life.   The God we believe in is one who can bring dead people to life, so in our life we must expect signs and wonders to happen.  If we believe in a living God instead of a dead God, He will surely move in our lives.  I often say that we must not become "old Christians."  Who are the old Christians?  They are those who have lost great expectation on God and they no longer expect God to perform any miraculous work or change them in any way.  One who loses expectation on God cannot be used by God as His vessel, so may God help us not to become old Christians.  Many come before God without such great expectation, and they may feel bored during meetings and fall asleep like Eutychus, because they don't think or expect God to do anything spectacular.   The truth is that God is real and alive, and he will surely bring forth the power for turning things around in our lives.  If we are always in deep sleep inside and our spirit is surrounded by the scent of death, may God help us and let His light shine on us and lift us up.  Let us be resurrected from death and be filled with joy and power because God is working on us right now.  In our daily life, let us bear witness for God's glorious beauty, and let us stand firm for God!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you and we give you all the glory because you are such a faithful God who resurrected Eutychus from death.  Today, you will also resurrect us from the scent of death in our lives so that we may bear witness for your glorious beauty.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.

Today's Passage - Acts 20:1-6

Acts 20: 1-6   When the uproar had ended, Paul sent for the disciples and, after encouraging them, said good-by and set out for Macedonia.  He traveled through that area, speaking many words of encouragement to the people, and finally arrived in Greece, where he stayed three months. Because the Jews made a plot against him just as he was about to sail for Syria, he decided to go back through Macedonia.  He was accompanied by Sopater son of Pyrrhus from Berea, Aristarchus and Secundus from Thessalonica, Gaius from Derbe, Timothy also, and Tychicus and Trophimus from the province of Asia...   No matter where Paul went, he was always gathering people or disciples to encourage them.  If we had encountered all these troubles like Paul did, we would probably be filled with complaints.  Paul, on the other hand, didn't complain at all and always encouraged people wherever they went, which was truly precious.  This is an important virtue while we serve God - No matter what troubles we encounter, we need to stay faithful to the mission that God entrusted us.  One I passed by a church, and three English words on its door drew my attention and made a lasting impression inside me: Never give up.  May God help us - Never give up and never be afraid!   When we serve God, we should never give up easily.  No matter how many times we are hurt and defeated, we must keep in mind that God is still sitting on the throne.  We need to encourage one another so that we can lift the morale of all brothers and sisters in serving God, and we also need to depend on the word of God and power of the Holy Spirit.  An army is capable of fighting because of its morale; when the morale is high, it can defeat the enemy no matter how vicious it is.  The spiritual army works the same way; no matter how vicious is the enemy before us, if we have strong morale, we can depend on God to defeat the enemy.  We need to encourage each other to lift our spiritual morale so that we may all be edified.   Paul understood the importance of high spiritual morale; therefore, no matter where he went, he already encourage people and disciples.  Also, Paul never gave up and was not afraid because he had an optimistic attitude.  He didn't just only look at the circumstance, but he trusts the Lord who's master of the circumstance, and that became the motivation for his ministry and source of his strength.  May God help us to keep on moving forward and to depend on him everyday no matter what kind of difficulty we encounter!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we thank you because you are already victorious, and you are the master of our life.  We ask that you bless each brother and sister daily so that we can proclaim victory by your might.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.

Today's Passage - Acts 19:35-41

Acts 19:35-41   The city clerk quieted the crowd and said: "Men of Ephesus, doesn't all the world know that the city of Ephesus is the guardian of the temple of the great Artemis and of her image, which fell from heaven?  Therefore, since these facts are undeniable, you ought to be quiet and not do anything rash...  They can press charges.  If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal assembly.  As it is, we are in danger of being charged with rioting because of today's events. In that case we would not be able to account for this commotion, since there is no reason for it."  After he had said this, he dismissed the assembly.   In this passage, an bizarre riot took place.  We don't usually understand why these riots happen around us, but from the perspective of spirituality there are often reasons why these hardships come upon us.   First, sometimes they're caused by our negligence.  For example, when we have a flat tire on the highway, we might say that it's an attack from the enemy, when the reality is that we've been negligent in taking care of our car; we often fall into hardship because of our negligence.  Before David committed the sin of adultery, the Bible said that when the Israelites were fighting a battle out there, he was sleeping in the palace till late in the day; what a sluggish lifestyle!  After he woke up, he was pacing around on the patio, where he saw Beersheba bathing and was tempted into adultery.  David didn't stay alert, and thus he gave the devil room to tempt him into sin.   Second, sometimes hardships are indeed attacks from the enemy.  The early church, for example, did encounter all kinds of obstacles.  Paul mentioned all the hardships that he encountered, including getting whipped by people, running into accident on the sea, being persecuted all over, worrying about the church every day, etc.  The enemy can use all kinds of things to deter the work of God from expanding.   Third, sometimes hardships are the work of God in order to manifest His glory.  One time Jesus and the disciples were walking on the road, and a man who was born blind came to them.  The disciples immediately asked: Whose sin caused the blindness, his parents' or his?  The answer from Jesus intriguing - It was neither of them.  Lord, however, said the God's glory will be manifested from this man.   When we encounter any hardship for no reason, let us come before God to ask for His will so that we may respond accordingly, and we will then be blessed more abundantly.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, we ask that you bless the brothers and sisters; no matter what hardship they are encountering right now, I believe that your hands are behind it, and you will turn it around to become more blessings on them each day.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.

Today's Passage - Acts 19:23-34

Acts 19:23-34   About that time there arose a great disturbance about the Way.  A silversmith named Demetrius, who made silver shrines of Artemis, brought in no little business for the craftsmen.  He called them together, along with the workmen in related trades, and said: "Men, you know we receive a good income from this business.  And you see and hear how this fellow Paul has convinced and led astray large numbers of people here in Ephesus and in practically the whole province of Asia. He says that man-made gods are no gods at all.  There is danger not only that our trade will lose its good name, but also that the temple of the great goddess Artemis will be discredited, and the goddess herself, who is worshiped throughout the province of Asia and the world, will be robbed of her divine majesty."  When they heard this, they were furious and began shouting: "Great is Artemis of the Ephesians!"  Soon the whole city was in an uproar....   When Paul was preaching the gospel in Ephesus, he encountered a great obstacle related to the worship of goddess Artemis at the place.  Who is Artemis?  According to Greek mythology she is the goddess of moon who's also named Diana, and she's responsible for reproduction.  Her upper body is covered with multitude of breasts and there's a snake hanging over her.  Many ancient civilizations and countries that were influenced by them have similar practice of worshipping queen of heaven or earth, such as Mazu of Taiwan.  These goddess bound the spirits and lives of people, causing difficulties for the gospel to spread in these areas.   We also often encounter obstacles when we want to spread the gospel wherever we are.  These obstacles can be related to regional strongholds, such as idols that are worshipped locally or trend and fashion of the time that bind people's hearts just like idols.  It could also be materialism that deters hearts of people from coming to God.   In addition, these strongholds may also be the sins in the hearts of people; not just personal sins, but they can also be sins of the family or of earlier generations that have been inherited.  These sins can bind the hearts of people so that they cannot open up to God and receive His grace.  When we preach the gospel, we must clearly understand the strongholds of a particular area.  May the Holy Spirit open our eyes to see these strongholds, and may God help us to stand firm on the foundation of the precious blood of Jesus Christ.  Let us proclaim victory in the name of the Lord in order to break all the bondages from the strongholds, so that the hearts of people will be released to turn back to the true God.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, please reveal to us the strongholds around us; we ask that you break all of them so that the hearts and souls around us may be set free and open up to you, and get to know you better.  Let us engage in this spiritual warfare and be victorious.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen! Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.

Today's Passage - Acts 19:19-22

Acts 19:19-22 A number who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. When they calculated the value of the scrolls, the total came to fifty thousand drachmas. In this way the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. After all this had happened, Paul decided to go to Jerusalem, passing through Macedonia and Achaia. "After I have been there," he said, "I must visit Rome also." He sent two of his helpers, Timothy and Erastus, to Macedonia, while he stayed in the province of Asia a little longer. It is mentioned here that the word of the Lord spread widely and grew in power. When revival comes, there will not only be signs and wonders, but more importantly, the word of the Lord will spread out, and not only will the word of God spread out; but it will spread widely and grow in power. The Word of God can overcome the world, overcome enemies, and overcome all powers of darkness because the Word of God has great spiritual au authority and power. Many people preach the Word of God only by reasoning and intellect. In reality, reasoning and intellect cannot convert the hearts of man. The Bible clearly tells us that knowledge puffs up; it causes those who do not believe to be even more arrogant, and causes hearts to drift further from God. The problem of the church today is that we rely solely on logic, human reasoning and intellect, but we do not use these together with the spiritual power. Seminaries teach preachers how to put together a beautiful message, but do not teach students how to weave them together with the power of the Holy Spirit. As a result, we only preach empty theories, which are without the Holy Spirit's power and authority. Today we need to repent, because God's way has the ability to change lives and societies. In fact, verse 19 mentions that even those who had practiced sorcery brought their scrolls together and burned them publicly. Think about it, what a wonderful testimony would this be if this happened in our time! Hence, let us stop blaming other religions that are drawing people away from Christianity. What we need to do is to return to God and pray that His power will come upon us. May we truly preach His Word with power, so that it may spread widely and it may grow in power. When people see the ability of God's Word to bring about change, their lives, societies and countries will be changed too. May the Lord bring about such revival in our lives! Pray with Pastor Tong Lord, we pray that the power of your Holy Spirit will bring revival into our midst. Let us hunger for your word, let hearts be convicted, let societies and countries be changed. Bless us in the place we are in right now, and let your Word spread widely and grow in power. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen! Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.

Today's Passage - Acts 19:13-18

Acts 19:13-18 Some Jews who went around driving out evil spirits tried to invoke the name of the Lord Jesus over those who were demon-possessed. They would say, "In the name of Jesus, whom Paul preaches, I command you to come out." Seven sons of Sceva, a Jewish chief priest, were doing this. One day the evil spirit answered them, "Jesus I know, and I know about Paul, but who are you?" Then the man who had the evil spirit jumped on them and overpowered them all. He gave them such a beating that they ran out of the house naked and bleeding. When this became known to the Jews and Greeks living in Ephesus, they were all seized with fear, and the name of the Lord Jesus was held in high honor. Many of those who believed now came and openly confessed their evil deeds. The name of Jesus has great power and authority. Even when others fake the use of his name, they immediately were attacked. This shows that Jesus' name is held in high esteem. Those of us in the church often take for granted the importance of the Lord's name. "In Jesus name" has become only an end to our prayers. However, the Lord's name is very valuable, and when we pray to God in the name of Jesus, we need to have real confidence that God can bring about healing and the forgiveness of sin. When we pray in the name of Jesus, we can turn people's hearts toward God and bring about a spirit of unity. The Lord's name is very important. Each time when we pray in Jesus name, we can bring about results and power. Secondly, we need to believe in God's authority. Since Jesus commanded us to pray in His name, we know that God will hear our prayers when we pray in Jesus name. Pray that God will help us not to be deceived by the enemy. Oftentimes when we minister, the enemy can easily deceive us. However, the truth is, God has given us the authority, when we come before God and pray in the name of Jesus, God will certainly hear us. How important the name of the Lord! The Bible reveals God's name to be "Jehovah Jireh". meaning He is our Provider; "Jehovah Shalom" that God is our Peace; "Jehovah Rapha," that God is our Healer; "Jehovah Nissi", that God is our victorious banner; "Lord, Rohi," that God is our Shepherd; "Jehovah Shammah," that God is always present, and we will live in Christ forever. Each name of God is a promise, we need to come before Him in faith and pray and exercise our faith. Pray with Pastor Tong Lord, we thank you because you have given us your name. Help us in our everyday life to know how to correctly use your name, that we may win the spiritual battles by your name. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen! Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow the project on Facebook ! Help us to reach our Phase I Target, and witness how God expands His Kingdom on earth!  Click here to donate online.