Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:12-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:12-14   "...in order that we, who were the first to hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory.  And you also were included in Christ when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation. Having believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God's possession--to the praise of his glory."   "...Holy Spirit, who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance..."  Spirit is our deposit guarantee that we can become like Christ.  A son has the life of his father inside, so his father's character and form will be shown through him.  This is a natural process of life growth and it doesn't have to be forced.  When I look like my baby pictures, I didn't rally look like my father, but now I find myself more and more like my father.  His life has always been inside me, thus his form will be shown through me.  God calls us His children, because He has given us His life.  Whether you are a spiritual baby or you don't think you have form of God at all, as long as you are not hindering God's work, His life will grow inside you until you are like Him.   When I read the Sermon of the Mount before, I often tremble inside, because I felt Jesus was really harsh.  Like in Matthew 5:48, Jesus said "Be perfect, therefore, as your heavenly Father is perfect."  My first reaction was, "it's hopeless, how can I ever become like Father God?"  But when I truly understand the meaning of being children of God, I realize that Jesus did not come to establish new law, but rather simply to give us a promise that is full of hope.  As children of God, God has already given us the seed for a blameless life; this seed is germinating and growing nicely, and one day we will be totally like our Father God.   We need to come before God sincerely, open ourselves up and let the Holy Spirit shine on us to remove all the hindrances.  No matter what we are holding onto tightly, we need to learn to let go and let the Holy Spirit do His work.  Holy Spirit knows the will of Father God; He will guide us with the Father's will and mold us until we are completely like Christ.                                                                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you have given the Holy Spirit to us, and He is the evidence of our inheritance.  I know that since the Holy Spirit placed the life of Christ inside us, this life will grow until we have the form of Jesus Christ.  I thank you for such grace and I ask the Lord to help us to be sensitive to the work of the Spirit and follow His guidance in our daily life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:9-11

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:9-11   "And he made known to us the mystery of his will according to his good pleasure, which he purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment - to bring all things in heaven and on earth together under one head, even Christ.  In him we were also chosen, having been predestined according to the plan of him who works out everything in conformity with the purpose of his will..."   What is it that God has chosen the saints to inherit, or accomplish?  We are supposed to receive an inheritance in Christ, which is also predestined in God the Father, so that His glory may be praised.  Romans 8:29 says that "For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the likeness of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers."  This inheritance is what we need to accomplish - to become like Jesus according to the will of God, so that His glory may be manifested in us.  God has called to depart from sin to become His children and to be present with him.  That is, however, not what God ultimately wants to accomplish in us, because God's ultimate plan is to be like Jesus Christ.  The calling of God gives us the role as His children, and also let Christ rule our life.   So how do we learn to accomplish it?  We need to be changed through prayer.  The founder of an American women prayer ministry, Evelyn Christenson, has prayed that "Lord, I am not asking you to change others, change my husband or change my children, but please change me."  She prayed this way because she saw how she needed to be changed by God, and she needed to learn to entrust her husband and children to God's hands.  She also saw that through changing her, God also changed those who are around her.  We can say the same prayer in our daily life, and let us learn to spend quiet time before Him and listen to Him.   Let us spend more quiet time before God in our life, focus our thoughts on Jesus, thank and praise Him for His Word and work.  When we quiet down, we don't need to rush to say anything, but just let the Holy Spirit lead your mind and thoughts.  When the Holy Spirit has an opportunity to work, He will speak to your heart.  In the beginning, perhaps God just wants to change some small things in your life, but if you can submit to Him in small things, He can change you to be more like Christ.  Are you will to start this kind of prayer life starting today?                                                                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you are willing to work in our life until we are more like Christ.  May the Lord teach us to pray in our daily life, and let us learn to wait upon you quietly.  May the Spirit speak to us directly, guide us and correct us, until we are more like the Lord.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:6-8

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:6-8   "...to the praise of his glorious grace, which he has freely given us in the One he loves.  In him we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God's grace that he lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding."   Salvation and all the grace that God has prepared for human beings can only be passed down to us through Jesus Christ.  The Bible says that "salvation is found in no one else, for there is no other name under heaven given to men by which we must be saved."  We can only enjoy all the abundant grace prepared by God through Jesus Christ.   The meaning of name Jesus is "He will save all His people from sin."  We grieve over all the wars between nations in the world and conflicts between people, but if we think about all these problems, don't they all originate directly or indirectly from sin?  Chinese people don't like to hear the word "sin", because we can only associate "sin" with major crimes.  But if we think carefully, does sin have to be an action?  The origin is sin is actually our self-centeredness.  Self-centeredness will lead us into sin and trespasses without us even realizing it.  The biggest weakness in human nature is that we don't know the ugliness of our own nature, thus we don't feel that we need salvation from God.  On top of it, we have an even greater weakness, which is the fact that we don't have the ability to overcome sin.   Paul understood the weakness of human nature profoundly, that's why he said that "I know that nothing good lives in me, that is, in my sinful nature. For I have the desire to do what is good, but I cannot carry it out.  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."  He was not just describing his own experience, but also the problem that you and I, as human beings, encounter.  Paul, however, gave us a way out - Thank God, because through our Lord Jesus Christ we can overcome sin!  God sent Jesus to the world to die on the cross for you and me, and then resurrected from death because He never sinned, and thus all the authority of sin on us has been broken.   Because of the bondage of sin, we led a self-centered life before and did not have the freedom to live without sinning.  Now, because of Jesus Christ, we can be free from the bondage of sin, and seek freedom and satisfaction in the spirit in His love and graced.  We were pulled downward by the power of sin before, but now with our life in Christ we can overcome that power, and we can be led upward into God's abundant grace.  Hallelujah!                                                                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you that our trespasses can be forgiven by you because of salvation of Jesus Christ.  We confess that we have sinned and fell short of your expectation before, so we ask that the Lord's precious blood cleanse us and cover us again so that we may be delivered from the bondage of sin.  Let our spirit and soul be delivered and freed so that we will receive joy and peace.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:3-5

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:3-5   "Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ. For he chose us in him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in his sight. In love he predestined us to be adopted as his sons through Jesus Christ, in accordance with his pleasure and will..."   The blessings that Chinese people talk about are often the secular kind, and they often carry selfishness and flesh.  On blessings that are spiritual in nature and from God can bring us true peace and joy.  So, what are spiritual blessings in Christ?   First, God gave us the role of children of God.  Those of us who were redeemed by the Lord are called children of God, and that is a precious grace.  One time I went to a retreat in a Christian campsite, and I need to use the restroom.  On the doors of the restrooms the words "Princes" and "Princesses" were written.  My first reaction was that I must have found the wrong restrooms, because there should be some that were reserved for "ordinary people."  Then I realized that in the kingdom of God we are princes and princesses; although I was familiar with such truth, I only came to understand clearly how true and precious it is to be children of God on that day.  Since we are children of God, God will become the provider and protector in our life.   Second, God wants us to become holy in Christ; not only did He give us the role as His children, He also wants us to be holy.  Being holy is to take on the form of Jesus Christ in our life, not to depend on our own strength, but we must be in Christ.  "In Christ" is not some vague concept, but it's to depend on the work on the Holy Spirit.  A person cannot become holy by examining oneself; if a person is in the dark, he won't be able to see how dirty he is no matter how hard he examines himself.  Only with the shining light from the Holy Spirit would it be possible for us to rebuke ourselves for sin, righteousness and judgment.   On the other hand, even if a person sees his own filthiness, he might not have the strength to change himself.   It's only possible for us to have the strength to change if the Holy Spirit comes upon us.  Holiness is God's desire for us, and it's also a process.  It may not be just one or two days, but it can take one, two, ten or even twenty years.  No matter how we see ourselves, we just don't look like Jesus, but in 1 John 3:2 the Lord promised that "But we know that when he appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."  Hallelujah, may the Lord give us a heart that depends on Him for the rest of our time on earth.                                                                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because in Christ you have given us such precious blessing, and you made us children of God.  You also want us to be holy, and even though we are not quite like you yet, we trust that the Holy Spirit will work inside us till we are more like you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 1:1-2

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 1:1-2   "Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, to the saints in Ephesus, the faithful in Christ Jesus: Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ."   Book of Ephesians is one of the four "Prison Epistles" that Paul wrote in Rome while imprisoned.  He first greeted the saints in Ephesus and addressed them as "the faithful in Christ Jesus."  "In Christ Jesus" is an important term in Pauline theology.  Since the first day Paul accepted the Lord, he had profoundly experienced the close relationship between Christ and the saints.   When Paul was on the way to Damascus, suddenly a bright light flashed upon him, and there was a voice saying "Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?"  At first, Paul didn't understand what it meant, and then he suddenly came to realize that persecuting Christians is same as persecuting Jesus!  Later on, when he reached Damascus, God sent Ananias to lay hands and pray for Paul because Paul's eyes turned blind as if there were scales on them.  As soon as Ananias said "Brother Saul..." the scales fell off Paul's eyes, and Paul realized that everyone's brother and sister in the Lord!  When he heard Ananias calling him a brother, his heart was opened by God and he understood that in Christ he's connected with the Lord and with fellow brothers and sisters.  This kind of relationship can be even closer than those between brothers and sisters in flesh!   Paul also addressed the saints in Ephesus as "the faithful."  The Ephesian church is faithful, but in Revelations chapter two, the Lord rebuked them that "I know your deeds, your hard work and your perseverance...  You have persevered and have endured hardships for my name, and have not grown weary.  Yet I hold this against you: You have forsaken your first love."  The Ephesian church was faithful, but it had lost its "first love" for the Lord.  This is somewhat similar to the condition of the Chinese church today.  We serve faithfully and we do whatever we should without complaints, but we don't have a zealous heart or a momentum to serve the Lord.  A love that is responsible yet have no flame will not satisfy anyone in a relationship, and in the same manner a love without flame will not satisfy God!  What is your condition now?  Do you have a flaming love for God?  May the Lord help us to repent and turn back to Him, and let God's love touch us once again!                                                                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we love because you loved us first.  You chose us and in Christ we can be connected with you and with brothers and sisters.  May your love continue to touch us, let us be faithful to you in our daily life, and to have flaming love for you.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Galatians 6:15-18

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 6:15-18    Neither circumcision nor uncircumcision means anything; what counts is the new creation. Peace and mercy to all who follow this rule-to the Israel of God. From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus. The grace of our Lord Jesus Christ be with your spirit, brothers and sisters. Amen.    In the church, there are often disputes over small things. There are disputes over circumcision or uncircumcision, disputes over what it means to be filled with the Holy Spirit, disputes over whether to be baptized by immersion or by sprinkling, disputes over whether to raise or not raise hands during worship, disputes over whether it's ok to use drums, and disputes over where to put the piano or organ. People forget that in Christ we are to be a new creation. In the church we often compare who is more spiritual, who is not spiritual, yet we do not see that our attitude of pointing and criticizing others is really the most unspiritual thing. We feel we are exercising righteous anger for God, yet we do not see that in the process of venting our anger we hurt others, which is the greater unrighteousness. We only see the short-comings of others, yet very seldom do we see our own short-sightedness.     Paul says very clearly to circumcise or not circumcise is not an absolute truth. We don't need to dispute over these things. Let us learn in the Lord to bear with one other. If a person does not have Christ, he will surely perish, but if he believes and is baptized he will surely be saved. This has nothing to do with circumcision or uncircumcision. It is also the same with worship. There's not one thing that is not an outward form - raising hands, standing, sitting, sitting or not sitting are both outward forms. The most important thing is also what God cares the most about -whether we are worshipping in spirit and in truth? God cares not about the outward forms, but whether we are living as new creations from the inside. Speaking from this angle, what is the harm in dancing during worship? When I was in Africa doing missions work, I saw brothers and sisters dancing very well. Every time they danced joyfully before God at least over 30 minutes. God is pleased with this kind of worship. Yet in the Chinese church, if we see people dancing during worship, we will think how outrageous this is? In reality, to dance or not to dance does not matter. The important thing is to be a new creation!     Do you understand Paul's heart? Paul disputes in the church over many things and he must have been sick of it. He thinks, "Why do I still dispute over these things?" That's why in verse 17, he says, "From now on, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus." The important thing is:  Do you have the marks of Jesus in your life? May God help us so that our hearts can be free and open to welcome God to do his work in our lives so that we can live out the image of Christ in our everyday life.                                                                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, please help me to be like you, to value whether I have a new creation life and the vibrant image of Christ. Let me examine myself, live out your beauty, and be in one accord with each another in the church. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Galatians 6:11-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Galatians 6:11-14     ... Not even those who are circumcised keep the law, yet they want you to be circumcised that they may boast about your circumcision in the flesh. May I never boast except in the cross of our Lord Jesus Christ, through which the world has been crucified to me, and I to the world.    In the early church, they often forced the Gentiles to be circumcised. This was not because of the Law and not because it was for God's purposes, but it was to satisfy their own selfish ego. In the church there are many traditions which they force people to follow not because they are for people's spiritual growth or for church growth, but rather these are to satisfy their own self-image. Paul mentions here that what we boast in is Jesus Christ and him crucified and being crucified with Christ. This includes our old self and the desire to satisfy our own wishes, which are all to be crucified on the cross. No longer do things have to be according to the wishes of our own hearts. Rather we solely desire that God's will be done.     When we lead others, do we boast that they are following our ways of doing things? Or is this person truly living in the presence of God? To preach denominational teachings is very easy. When you chat with someone, you can know from the conversation if he is a Presbyterian, or a Baptist, or from the Local church. Yet to preach "Emmanuel", God is with us, is rather so difficult. What we see is the outward appearance of people, which emphasizes the methods of man, yet it fails to bring people before God to enjoy his presence and truthfulness.    If we are boasting in traditions and denominational teachings, then we are leading people on a path of death. If we are emphasizing a vibrant life, then we will bring people to the presence of Jesus Christ. We need to seriously ask ourselves, in our entire faith practices, and in our entire church, when we do something, what is the reason we do it? I find that in the church people often don't ask this question. Yet when we carefully think about the reason why we do things this way, we will discover that in reality the reason we do many things is just because the people before us did it this way, yet there is no real spiritual meaning in it and there is no real spiritual need for it. May God have mercy on us to truly face our own faith practices and help us to know what is from man and what is from God. If it is from man, may God give us a bearing heart to accept one another. If it is from God, then it is an unchanging truth.                                                                                  Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because your word gives me freedom. Lord, please forgive me for often to satisfy myself I ignored your will. Lord, please let me boast not in man's traditions, but in your works. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!