Today's Passage - Matthew 3:11-12

Matthew 3:11-12 "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry.  He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire. His winnowing fork is in his hand, and he will clear his threshing floor, gathering his wheat into the barn and burning up the chaff with unquenchable fire."   The Bible mentioned two kinds of baptisms.  Their difference lies in the baptists.  Paul said in 1 Corinthians 12:13, "For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body - whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free--and we were all given the one Spirit to drink."  The one Spirit mentioned here is the baptist.  It's clear that the baptist was the Holy Spirit.  The purpose of the baptism is so that we can be of one body.  Christians are individuals who has received Jesus Christ as our saviour.  But when we receive baptism, we are connected together, and become one body.  We start to relate to each other, and become parts of that one body.  In Jesus Christ, we are one family.  However, the baptist who performed "baptism by Holy Spirit" in these two verses in Matthew chapter 3 was not the Holy Spirit, but Jesus Christ.  In English it is "baptized with the Spirit".  Lord baptized us with the Holy Spirit.  The purposes of the baptism is to purify life and manifest power.  That's why verse 11 says that He baptized with the Holy Spirit and with fire.  If it is fire, it can not be still.  Because Lord is Holy, when a fire starts, all thing that are not pure will be burnt.  He will do this kind of work in our hearts.    When Jesus went into the Holy Temple, the first thing he did was to purify the temple.  Before the Lord went in, people did all kinds of commerce, and anything they desired in the temple.  But Lord came to destroy sins.  Once he went in, he started the work of destruction.  He would rebuild later.  On the other hand, when the Holy Spirit descended on Pentecost, it specifically mentioned that the Holy Spirit appeared as tongues of fire resting on everyone, bringing power and miracle.  This is also what our generation needs.  We pray for miracle. At this end of time, we pray to God through Mark 16:20, "Oh Lord, we pray that you work with us, confirming what we preach through miracles."   Today, we need baptism by the Holy Spirit.  It is not just for us to be connected in Jesus and become the body of Jesus Christ; more importantly, we need the Holy Spirit to shower us and fill us. Let Jesus Christ baptize us with Holy Spirit and fire so that our lives and ministries can be empowered!   Prayer with Pastor Tong Liu,    Lord, we are eager for the work of your Holy Spirit, because baptism by Holy Spirit not only connects us, but also changes our lives.  We ask that you empower our lives and empower our ministries so that your name is lifted high, drawing thousands to yourself.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!        Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 3:1-10

Matthew 3:1-10   In those days John the Baptist came, preaching in the wilderness of Judea and saying, "Repent, for the kingdom of heaven has come near."  This is he who was spoken of through the prophet Isaiah: "A voice of one calling in the wilderness, 'Prepare the way for the Lord, make straight paths for him.'" John's clothes were made of camel's hair, and he had a leather belt around his waist. His food was locusts and wild honey.  People went out to him from Jerusalem and all Judea and the whole region of the Jordan.  Confessing their sins, they were baptized by him in the Jordan River.  But when he saw many of the Pharisees and Sadducees coming to where he was baptizing, he said to them: "You brood of vipers! Who warned you to flee from the coming wrath?  Produce fruit in keeping with repentance. And do not think you can say to yourselves, 'We have Abraham as our father.' I tell you that out of these stones God can raise up children for Abraham.   The ax is already at the root of the trees, and every tree that does not produce good fruit will be cut down and thrown into the fire.   John the Baptist was the prophet who prepared the way for Jesus Christ.  When people asked him whether he's the one who was to come, he answered: "I baptize you with water for repentance. But after me will come one who is more powerful than I, whose sandals I am not fit to carry. He will baptize you with the Holy Spirit and with fire."  He clearly said that he was there to make prepare the way for the one who's coming.  Actually, John the Baptist was not the only one who prepared the way for the Lord.  Hebrew 12:13 says that "Make level paths for your feet," so that the lame may not be disabled, but rather healed."  The principle for God to work with people is that God is always the one who's doing the work, and He's the one who can perform miracles; we, however, are responsible for preparing the way for God, so that His work might be accomplished without any hindrance.   How do we prepare the way for the Lord?  First of all, we must repent and turn back to God.  When God is working, He looks for vessels that are clean.  That's why Paul said, in the 2 Timothy chapter two, that "In a large house there are articles not only of gold and silver, but also of wood and clay; some are for noble purposes and some for ignoble.  If a man cleanses himself from the latter, he will be an instrument for noble purposes, made holy, useful to the Master and prepared to do any good work."  We must examine ourselves daily, and ask the Lord to cleanse us with His precious blood and prepare ourselves, so that God may use us.   Second, if a church wants to experience revival, someone must prepare the way for the revival of God's kingdom, and it must be done through deep prayer.  A group of pastors visited the church of Reverend Spurgeon, and the reverend told them: "Let me show you the generator that powers our church."  They entered the basement, and found the room filled with intercessors who were praying for the church.  This is the secret of revival for the church of Reverend Spurgeon.  Brothers and sisters, is your heart filled with revival?  You can't just sit there and wait - You must get up and pray, until God's revival comes upon us!   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you, and I ask that the Lord's spirit help us to prepare ourselves for your work.  May the Lord cleanse us to become spotless vessels for you to use, and send the fire of prayer upon us so that we can continuously pray for the revival of church and God's kingdom until we see your revival come upon us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!      Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 2:19-23

Matthew 2:19-23   After Herod died, an angel of the Lord appeared in a dream to Joseph in Egypt and said, "Get up, take the child and his mother and go to the land of Israel, for those who were trying to take the child's life are dead." So he got up, took the child and his mother and went to the land of Israel. But when he heard that Archelaus was reigning in Judea in place of his father Herod, he was afraid to go there. Having been warned in a dream, he withdrew to the district of Galilee, and he went and lived in a town called Nazareth. So was fulfilled what was said through the prophets, that he would be called a Nazarene.   Jesus grew up in Nazareth and from a human perspective, Nazareth was not a famous place. No wonder the when Philip introduced Jesus to Nathanael, Nathanael asked, "Can anything good come from there?" Nevertheless, although men look at outward appearances, God looks at the heart. From the outside, David could not be the chosen King. When Samuel went to David's house to anoint one of Jesse's sons as King, Jesse called all his sons in, but Samuel could not find the one he was supposed to anoint and asked, "Are these all the sons you have?" Only then did Jesse realize that the youngest son David was still out with the sheep. Compared to his brothers, David seem to be neglected and even Goliath looked down on him. However, God does not look at the outward appearance. The Bible tells us that But God chose the foolish things of the world to shame the wise; God chose the weak things of the world to shame the strong. Although Nazareth was an unknown village, in the Lord's hand it became known. Even in the early church, they referred to the Lord as the "Jesus of Nazareth". When Peter, John were at the temple gate called beautiful, they said to the lame man, "Silver or gold I do not have, but what I do have I give you. In the name of Jesus Christ of Nazareth, walk." Nazareth became an instrument that the Lord used.   How is your future look? A lot of people have an inferiority complex because they feel that they were not born into a good family, their looks are average, they do not speak good English. People look at the outward appearance, but God looks at our heart. As long as we are willing to place our lives in the Lord's hand, He can change our lives so that our lives become meaningful and be a help and blessing to others, just like the donkey the Lord rode.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, thank you because you always choose the little known people in the world, but accomplish miraculous work through them. You chose Nazareth to be the place of your birth and in the same way, you can remove the inferiority complex in our lives, and teach us to depend on you. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!         Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 2:16-18

Matthew 2:16-18   When Herod realized that he had been outwitted by the Magi, he was furious, and he gave orders to kill all the boys in Bethlehem and its vicinity who were two years old and under, in accordance with the time he had learned from the Magi. Then what was said through the prophet Jeremiah was fulfilled: "A voice is heard in Ramah, weeping and great mourning, Rachel weeping for her children and refusing to be comforted, because they are no more."   Each time I read this Scripture, I am greatly saddened. It is not that God cannot comfort, or that He is not willing to comfort, but that Rachel refused to be comforted. It is not that God cannot work, but that we are unwilling to receive His work. This is such a tragedy. We know that God's work is coming and can bring about healing, salvation, peace and joy. Yet people refuse to be comforted and miss much of God's work.   Isn't this something that happens to us? Why do we refuse to receive God's blessings? The main reason is because we do not understand God's will and God's work. When my daughter was young, someone gave her a jacket. I brought it to her, but she was not excited about it at all. When it got cold one day, and her other jacket was in the laundry, she reluctantly. Hence she refused to take it off even when she got home, and of course she did not want her old jacket back.   Brothers and sisters, aren't we like this sometimes? We refuse to allow God to work in our lives because we do not understand how God's work will bring about much beauty and blessing. We hold on to our old jacket, and refuse to allow God to put on a new one for us. The purpose of God's work in our lives is to make us more like our Savior, Jesus Christ - to have his gentleness, loving, wisdom and compassion. May we come before God and have a willing and humble heart so that His work may be accomplished in our lives.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, if we are like Rachel in the past, refusing your work and refusing to be comforted, I pray Lord that your spirit will have mercy on us. Open our hearts to understand that your will is perfect and melt the ice off our hearts so that we may receive your grace and love once again.  I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!         Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 2:13-15

Matthew 2:13-15   When they had gone, an angel of the Lord appeared to Joseph in a dream. "Get up," he said, "take the child and his mother and escape to Egypt. Stay there until I tell you, for Herod is going to search for the child to kill him."  So he got up, took the child and his mother during the night and left for Egypt, where he stayed until the death of Herod. And so was fulfilled what the Lord had said through the prophet: "Out of Egypt I called my son."   From this verse, we can see two things: Firstly, the obedience of Joseph. When the angel appeared to Joseph, he obeyed God and brought His family to Egypt without questioning. If you do not recognize Jesus as your Lord, your heart will always be filled with "why". However, when your heart is submitted to God, you will discover that God's ways are higher than our ways and God's thoughts are higher than our thoughts.    Secondly, because of human submission, God's word is fulfilled. This is such a miraculous thing. Because Joseph submitted, it fulfilled the word of the prophet. God actually chose to co-work with men. From another perspective, this is also a very risky thing. If Joseph did not obey, God's prophecy will not be fulfilled! However, God still used to choose us to co-labor with Him. Just as Jesus commanded us to go into all the world and preach the gospel before He ascended into heaven. If you were the heavenly angels, and you saw Jesus give this command to the apostles, would you be nervous and think, what if these people fail to do that?   Thanks be to God, He is indeed miraculous. He can work in the hearts of men. God's spirit can touch us so that we may submit to Him and through our submission, His eternal plan can be fulfilled. Brothers and sisters, do you understand that you are so important to God? You are an important part in God's eternal plan. May God grant us a heart of submission so that we may obey his leading and allow His will to be fulfilled through us, so that His heart can be satisfied.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, thank you because you are such a miraculous Savior. I want to co-labor with you and play a part of your eternal plan. May the Lord grant us a heart of obedience, just like Joseph, to submit before your will and path, so that through us, your perfect plan may be accomplished. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!        Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 2:11-12

Matthew 2:11-12   On coming to the house, they saw the child with his mother Mary, and they bowed down and worshiped him. Then they opened their treasures and presented him with gifts of gold, frankincense and myrrh. And having been warned in a dream not to go back to Herod, they returned to their country by another route.   The Magi traveled a long way to find Jesus and came with a longing heart. Their purpose was not to bless themselves, but to worship Him. They did not come to the Lord with anything and did not ask for any blessings. Instead, they presented Him with gifts, gold, frankincense and myrrh, which are very valuable gifts back then. Their long travels were solely to worship this Savior.   Today when you and come before God, what is our attitude like? We often pray to God like an idol worshiper burning incense to ask for blessings, except that we use the prayers instead of incense. This is contradictory to what the Bible teaches us. Prayer is not man-centered, but God-centered. The important thing in our faith is to please God, not to seek our own satisfaction. The truth is when we seek God's pleasure, we find our own purpose as well. Only in God can we find true satisfaction. Hence, when we come before God, we need to come and just worship Him, not for ourselves, but just like the Magi, to simply come and adore him.   Secondly, the Magi went with a heart that was corrected. When the angels told them not to go back to Herold, they returned to their country by another route. They will willing to be guided by God and walked God's path. When you worship God, are you willing to be changed by God? Once I got a traffic ticket and had to go to traffic school. The teacher said, "Do you know why people dislike traffic school? Firstly, because there is nothing new to learn. Everything taught here is what people already know. Secondly, traffic school cannot change driving habits. Many people will continue to drive at 90 miles an hour when they leave the class!" God's Spirit reminded me at that time that the church is the same way.  Why is it that the church does not attract people these days? Because people already know many of these teachings. Secondly, these teachings cannot really bring about change. Hence, the church is powerless and cannot attract people to the Lord. May the Lord have mercy on us. The Jesus inside us is not weak, but all-powerful. We need to be willing to be changed by God so that the power of Christ can flow out from our lives.     Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, may you help us to worship you with a heart of longing. May you give us the will to be changed and allow your power to flow through our lives, so that this generation may recognize you and worship you. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!         Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!

Today's Passage - Matthew 2:7-10

Matthew 2:7-10   Then Herod called the Magi secretly and found out from them the exact time the star had appeared. He sent them to Bethlehem and said, "Go and search carefully for the child. As soon as you find him, report to me, so that I too may go and worship him."   After they had heard the king, they went on their way, and the star they had seen when it rose went ahead of them until it stopped over the place where the child was. When they saw the star, they were overjoyed.   According to biblical records, these Magi were longing to see Jesus. They came from a far away land to find Jesus Christ. However, even when you are trying to follow the Holy Spirit, you may go the wrong way. Jesus was born in Bethlehem, how did they end up in Jerusalem? Jerusalem is the city of the King and the capital of Judea. The Magi were following the Holy Spirit, but when they came close to Jerusalem, they did not notice that the star was continuing to move towards Bethlehem.   We are the same way when we follow the Lord. We are easily led astray by our circumstances, our fleshly desire, our habits and our worldviews. In the spiritual world, it is not as scary when we wander off the path. The scariest part is if we do not have a heart that is willing to be corrected. It is so difficult for God to change us sometimes. What Christians need most is to recognize the Lordship of Christ. Jesus is not only our Savior, but Lord of our lives, our emotions and will. We need to allow God to do the work of correction in our lives. It is not enough to only have passion and zeal when we serve God. In the Bible, the Pharisees have great zeal, just like Paul who was zealous in persecuting Christians.    Secondly, we need to pray for the pastor's family. A pastor's family is often attacked by the enemy. We need to pray for the pastor's children. They grow up under a lot of stress and become rebellious easily. Many pastors are often heartbroken or troubled by their children because they do not know how to lead them. May God give special grace to them so that they may glorify His name in their lives.   Passion and zeal alone will not please God. We need to be willing to receive God's correction, so that we can be vessels that are fit for God's use. No matter how weak you are spiritually, as long as you have the desire for God and a willingness to be corrected by God, God's Spirit can bring you to the fertile land. When the Magi received the correction of the Holy Spirit, they finally lifted up their heads and in verse 9, it said, "suddenly the star rose and went ahead of them." I like the word "suddenly". Did God stop guiding them or shorten His arms? Did God stop blessing them? Of course not, it was just that they have never paid attention and never allowed God to guide them. May the Lord give us a humble and willing heart, to receive his correction gladly in our lives every day.   Pray with Pastor Tong   Lord, I thank you and praise you because you are such a faithful and mighty God who is willing to guide us every day. May you constantly remind us so that we can avoid taking the longer route in our spiritual walk. Give us a humble heart to listen to your Word and to walk according to your commands. I thank you and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!         Shekinah Glory - ROLCC Building Expansion Project - Follow us on our Facebook page!