Today's Passage - Phil 1:12-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Philippians 1:12-14   Now I want you to know, brothers and sisters, that what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel. As a result, it has become clear throughout the whole palace guard and to everyone else that I am in chains for Christ.    When Paul spoke this word, he was locked in a prison in Rome. From human perspective, things weren't going to well. He had plenty of reasons to complain, because it seemed like he was born in the time. If Paul was born in modern time, maybe he could have become more revered than Billy Graham! Paul, however, did not complain at all. Instead, he said that "what has happened to me has actually served to advance the gospel." Even though things were not going well for him, he could see God's help in every circumstance.   At that time, because Paul was going to be tried in the court of the Roman Emperor, he was carefully guarded by the royal guards. A guard was assigned to him all the time with a rotation every six hours. Paul immediately saw that it was a great opportunity to share the gospel; before, when he was preaching the gospel, people either didn't care to listen or they wanted to beat him up.  Now there was actually someone there to listen to him no matter how much he preached, and there's a new person every six hours! Paul knew that it was an opportunity given to him by God, so he actively worked with God and very soon the entire team of royal guards had heard the gospel.   God's guidance is really beyond what we could imagine!  If Paul was a preacher who's free, he could probably only be in contact with the Jews in Rome or ordinary people.  As a prisoner, however, he was able testify in the palace of Rome.  Not only that, Paul was able to make an appeal in front of Caesar as a prisoner, which gave him in incredible and unimaginable opportunity to share the gospel.  The God we believe in is one who turn resistance to assistance; no matter what happens, God can turn everything into positive momentum in life.  Therefore, let's look upon Him by faith, and hold on to all the opportunities that He has prepared for you in life!    Pray with Pastor Tong          Dear Lord, I thank you because you know everything that happens around me.  You are my savior and the Lord of my life!  Help me not to complain any more, but to see all the opportunities that you have prepared for me in my life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Phil 1:9-11

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Philippians 1:9-11   And this is my prayer: that your love may abound more and more in knowledge and depth of insight, so that you may be able to discern what is best and may be pure and blameless for the day of Christ, filled with the fruit of righteousness that comes through Jesus Christ - to the glory and praise of God.    In this passage, Paul prayed for all the saints.  Not only did he prayed to God to give them more love, but also asked that God gives them more insight in their love.  What is love with insight?  First of all, love with insight is one that distinguishes right from wrong.  Love is not blind and love can distinguish goodness from darkness.  Ability to distinguish right from wrong is a demonstration of maturity, like the growth of a child.  A baby boy cannot distinguish between different cars, for every car looks the same for him; when he turns to a youth, he can tell what the make and type of a car is with one look.  In the same way, mature love is a love that can distinguish right from wrong.   Second, love with insight will help us to become a pure and blameless person.  It's not enough to just be able to distinguish right from wrong; if a person can only tell right from wrong, it's easy for the person to become one who judges others, yet neglect to examine whether the testimony of Christ has been manifested from his life.  Have you tried to live a life that is pure and blameless?  It is a humbling experience, because it's impossible to live such a life with our own might!  As soon as we humble ourselves and ask for God's help, however, God's spirit will start to move freely in our life.  It's like what Ephesians 3:20 says: "Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us."   Lastly, love with insight can help us to bear the fruit of righteousness.  What is the fruit of righteousness?  Besides the testimony of life, the Bible says that we need to bear three types of fruit in the Lord.  First, the fruit of the gospel, which is to lead people to the Lord.  Second, the fruit of lips, which is a lifestyle of praise.  Is your mouth always filled with God's word?  You must submit your mouth before God, and then your heart can praise God.  Finally, the fruit of giving, which is the testimony of taking care of one another.  Do you see the needs of other brothers and sisters, and are you proactively filling those needs?  May the proactive love of God be filled among us!    Pray with Pastor Tong          Lord, we thank you, for we love because you first loved us.  May the Lord help me, let my mouth be filled with words of praise, and let me fulfill the needs of others.  Let me be a vessel of your love and let your love flow through me.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Phil 1:6-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Philippians 1:6-8   "Being confident of this, that he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus..."   Do you believe that our Lord is the God who initiates and completes?  He will never start something and give up on it later.  Everything that He starts is "good work," not something coarse or ugly, and they are beautiful in His eyes.  One time Jesus told the disciples on the shore of Galilee, "let us go to the other side."  They boarded the boat and the disciples started to sail to the other side, and that was the work that the Lord began.  When the boat was half-way, suddenly there was fierce storm on the sea, so ferocious that even the disciples who were fishermen before were scared to death.  They ran to Jesus but found out that He was asleep. We often see interesting contrasts between Jesus and disciples in the four books of Gospel.  In the garden of Gethsemane, when they are supposed to pray, the disciples fell asleep; in this scene, however, when disciples were supposed to sleep, they were all frightened.  They woke Jesus up and told Him: "Teacher, don't you care that we're about to die?"  Jesus got up and rebuked the storm and calmed it down, then He told the disciples: "Where is your faith?  Don't you believe that we can complete the work that I started?"  Don't you believe that if I told you we'll reach the other side, we will make it there?"   Aren't we like the disciples sometimes?  When we are supposed to be alert we fall asleep, and when we are supposed to depend on faith we are afraid.  This passage says that "he who began a good work in you will carry it on to completion."  God is the one who begins and ends, hallelujah!  This truth will bring peace to our hearts!  Are you experiencing storms in your life?  Perhaps you have a feeling that you've gone half way, so you must remember that the one who began the good work is also happy to complete the work until He returns!   Pray with Pastor Tong          Dear Lord, we thank you because not only are you God who begins, but also God who completes!  May the Lord help me to trust in you, let me not panic or be afraid, because I know that as long as you on my boat I don't need to afraid of any storm.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Phil 1:1-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Philippians 1:1-5   I thank my God every time I remember you. In all my prayers for all of you, I always pray with joy because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now...    What do you often give thanks for in your life? We often give thanks to God for things that we have accomplished or for our family, but did you know that God also wants us to give thanks for brothers and sisters around us? Starting the day we became Christians, God already placed us in a spiritual family, just like our physical family. When we think about the brothers and sisters that God placed around us in our life, some are easy to get along with and talk to, some often cause everyone headaches, and others need special care. God often shape our lives through our spiritual family. Think about all the change that Peter experienced throughout his lifetime, how God changed Peter from a believer like willow to the pillar of church. Was it through his physical family? Probably not, I believe that Peter's wife was probably startled by the transformation of Peter as well, because it wasn't something she could have brought onto Peter. God disciplined and shaped Peter through his spiritual family, so some have said that church is God's spiritual beauty salon. "Pray   For this we must give thanks to God for our brothers and sisters; not only thanking God, but Paul also said that he prayed for everyone. "Pray with joy" means blessings, for we must joyfully bless our brothers and sisters every day! We need to quiet down and think about their needs, and then pray to the Lord for their needs to be satisfied. Are you willing to bless the ministry of others this way? Bless your pastor, church coworkers, brothers and sisters, and family members. When we selflessly bless others, we will become testimony for unity and others will recognize that we are disciples of the Lord. Paul described the Philippian church as a church that partners with him in the gospel. Don't you envy them? Are you joyfully praying for your church? Let's start today!      Pray with Pastor Tong          Lord, I thank you because you are praying for me in front of Father's throne. May the Lord help me to imitate your example; let us pray for brothers and sisters and bless them in the name of the Lord, so that your kingdom will expand because of our unity. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Psalm 50:16-23

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Psalm 50: 16-23    But to the wicked person, God says: "What right have you to recite my laws or take my covenant on your lips? You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you... Consider this, you who forget God, or I will tear you to pieces, with no one to rescue you: Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me, and to the blameless I will show my salvation.   Verse 22 says "you who forget God," which reminds us whether we often forget about God. After we accept Jesus as our personal savior, we often still walk in our way in life; even though we claim that Jesus is Lord, but we often forget about God and His grace. When everything is going smoothly, we think that we get what we deserve through hard work. We forget how God treated us graciously and how He provided for all our needs, and we forget to "sacrifice thank offerings." That's why verse 23 says that "Those who sacrifice thank offerings honor me." In other word, if we don't give thanks, then we are really giving glory to enemy Satan. This is a serious matter! Let us come before God to count His blessings and to give thank offering. The Bible says that to more you count His blessings, the more you will rejoice.   Verse 17 says that "You hate my instruction and cast my words behind you." Aren't we often like that? We forget that God can also discipline us. In the beginning we might not feel good about it, but after we are disciplined we will bear the fruit of righteousness and peace in our lives. God wants our lives to be disciplined and shaped to be more like Jesus Christ. We, however, often forget about God's discipline but instead fall into our sins of the past. Even though God saved us, we still turn back to sin because we forget about God's discipline. Not only that, we also forget about God's promises and commandments. God's word is so true and it's right in front of us, but we often choose to listen to the voice of the world and follow the way of the world, and we end up departing from God.   May God help us, let us not forget God's word and His commandments, let us walk the way of God and glorify Him, just like what verse 23 says, "to the blameless I will show my salvation," for those who take on the path of God and stand on the promises of God will surely be saved! May the Lord help us and guard our heart and mind. Let us count and remember God's blessings all our life, and let us stand on the word of God and follow God's will so that we will be blessed all our life.   Pray with Pastor Tong          Dear Lord, I thank you because you have given us countless blessings in our lives. Let us not forget your grace and your deeds in our daily life, and also offer ourselves completely to live for you. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Psalm 50:1-15

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Psalm 50:1-15    ..."Listen, my people, and I will speak; I will testify against you, Israel: I am God, your God. I bring no charges against you concerning your sacrifices or concerning your burnt offerings, which are ever before me. I have no need of a bull from your stall or of goats from your pens, for every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills. I know every bird in the mountains, and the insects in the fields are mine. If I were hungry I would not tell you, for the world is mine, and all that is in it. Do I eat the flesh of bulls or drink the blood of goats? "Sacrifice thank offerings to God, fulfill your vows to the Most High, and call on me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor me."   This passage of Psalms clearly tells us that God rules now from the place of sunrise to sunset, and He's shining the in the world! God's throne is upon the whole earth and He's the Lord who judges, so we need to live day by day with a fearful heart. Verse 7 says that "I am God, your God." Brothers and sisters, did you know that God is not only the God sitting high up on the throne, not only God of all people, but also your God? He created you, redeemed you, shepherding you in your daily life, so you can trust in Him!   When we come before God, we often don't understand this truth, so we end up having a lot of quarrels and disputes. I started learning to tithe when I was young, when in the beginning I wasn't too happy about it, because I often negotiated with God. I would say: "God, this one-tenth belongs to you, I dare not surrender it to you, but the other nine-tenth is mine, so please don't touch it!" In my spiritual life, however, I felt that God wasn't satisfied with me just tithing; I wasn't happy because I felt that God wanted me to offer even more. One time I prayed before God, and suddenly He reminded me: "What yours and mine? Everything's mine, you are just managing it for me!"   God also says here that "every animal of the forest is mine, and the cattle on a thousand hills." There's nothing that doesn't below to Him. Actually, God doesn't need of a bull from our stall or of goats from our pens, for even our life belongs to God. When we truly understand this, how can we not offer ourselves to God? God has so much mercy and grace for us and He gives us all kinds of blessing, how we can we not offer the sacrifice of thanksgiving and entrust ourselves to the hands of God for Him to use? May God help us, not to always negotiate with Him in our daily life, but rather completely offer ourselves for Him to use!   Pray with Pastor Tong          Dear Lord, I thank you and praise you because you are God who created all things in the universe, and you are also the master who can provide us with all our needs. Since everything comes from you, we are willing to offer everything back to you so that you can use us! I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Psalm 49:10-20

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Psalm 49:10-20    ...Do not be overawed when others grow rich, when the splendor of their houses increases; for they will take nothing with them when they die, their splendor will not descend with them. Though while they live they count themselves blessed - and people praise you when you prosper - they will join those who have gone before them, who will never again see the light of life. People who have wealth but lack understanding are like the beasts that perish.    May God once again remind us not to just value wealth on earth or material things, because when our life ends we can't bring anything with us. Right before Emperor Alexander died, he instructed people to drill two holes on the cover on his coffin so that his hands can stick outside of the coffin, showing people that, even though he was splendidly rich when he was alive, after he died his hands were empty because he couldn't take anything with him. Even though it's a sorrowful thing for our life, but it's an important biblical doctrine that we need to be responsible for our life. Our life is not about our time on earth and it doesn't end with the end of our days on earth, because God has prepared eternal life for us. Brothers and sisters, have you thought about how we will face our God after we leave this world?   Verse 16 says that "Do not be overawed when others grow rich." When we see other people become rich and be blessed, we often feel jealous of then. When you go to someone's house and see that their kitchen is bigger than your living room, you will think jealously: "What's the big deal, we don't live by food alone!" Sometimes we complain before God: "Lord, why do I fear you but still have such a difficult life? Those who don't believe in you are boasting about themselves, but not even they are so blessed, other people also praise them!" Actually, verse 18 tells us that "people praise you when you prosper." Perhaps we can also think about how to be more prosper, but Christians should have different values, because we clearly know that there's life after death.   We either have eternal life or suffer through eternal death. There's judgment after death, so we need to be responsible for our life. There's judgment after we die, but there's also reward. Christians should strive to win the reward that God prepared for us; even though we might encounter all kinds of setbacks and difficulties, but we must once again lift up our dangling arms and straighten our sore legs. Let us dash forward, because we know that God has prepared purpose and reward for our life that we must work hard to win. May God once again encourage us to follow Him closely in our daily life!   Pray with Pastor Tong          Dear Lord, may you help us to not look at people of the world or the circumstance around us, but solely focus on you. May you be the strength for our daily life. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!