Today's Passage - Ephesians 3:1-3

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 3:1-3   "For this reason I, Paul, the prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles - Surely you have heard about the administration of God's grace that was given to me for you, that is, the mystery made known to me by revelation, as I have already written briefly."   Mystery of gospel is a turning point for Paul's life.  This mystery was shown to Paul through the vision he saw with his own eyes, thus he had no choice but to believe.  One who is used by God must see what God's shown him.  When Moses saw the burning bush in the wild that would not be burnt out, the vision attracted him.  Elisha saw Elijah taken to the heaven by a chariot of fire with angels and heavenly hosts, the vision also became the turning point in his life.  In the same way, when Paul encountered the great light on his way to Damascus, he encountered the Lord in the light, and this vision gave him a 180 degree turnabout.   Mystery of gospel not only turned Paul's life around, but also taught him how to face human suffering from a different perspective.  He said that he became "prisoner of Christ Jesus for the sake of you Gentiles."  He not only suffered for this mystery, he was also able to face suffering with a positive attitude.  It's not something to be ashamed of, but rather to be proud of, because he was suffering with the Lord.  As long as understand mystery of gospel, suffering meant nothing to him.  Not only that, mystery of gospel also turned him into a person with sense of mission, for he knew that God has given him the task of preaching the gospel.  Therefore, he's no longer an ordinary person, but rather one with God's mission and commission.  No matter where you are and what you are doing, you need to know what mission has God entrusted you, else you life will never be fully satisfied.   After many years as a pastor, I discovered that no matter what a person's social status is and how successful he's seen by others, he will always ask: "What am I living for?"  Many people climb to ladder of success all their life, but end up asking: "Is this it?  How come this is it?"  If we don't understand the mission that we are entrusted by God when we are created, we'll always have a void deep down inside our heart.  Paul knows what God entrusted him, thus he's not afraid of the difficulties; no matter whether it's a spiritual struggle or tough situation, nothing could hinder his journey forward.  Do you have such momentum when you are faced with difficulties in life?  You need to turn back to God and ask God to reveal Himself to you.  When you see, you will know how the Lord will become the guidance and strength for your life!                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you are our strength and help.  May God open our eyes to know what you have entrusted us in our life, and let us run after you.  Let us give our life to your hands so that you may use us.  Only when you are using us will we be able to see the true meaning and purpose for our life.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:21-22

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2:21-22   "In him the whole building is joined together and rises to become a holy temple in the Lord. And in him you too are being built together to become a dwelling in which God lives by his Spirit."   It is wonderful that in Christ we can become a dwelling place for the Holy Spirit.  The Holy Spirit wants to live within us so that we can clearly know that we belong to God.  Bible describes that Holy Spirit lives within us much like a seal on us.  A seal has several functions:   First, it's a sign of belonging.  Many people like to stamp a seal on their books, so that when someone picks up the book they know to whom it belongs to.  In the same way, when the Holy Spirit lives within us, God has stamped a seal on us saying that we belong to Him.  He's especially saying to the devil Satan, "don't bother him, he belongs to me."  One who belongs to God must have this sense of "seal" in order not to be attacked by deception of the enemy.   Next, the seal is a guarantee of quality.  When the Spirit lives within us, it's like we have received a seal of quality assurance, representing that we will one day be like Jesus.  Bible often mentioned that Jesus is our early fruit, which is a quality guarantee; if the early fruit is sour, the ripe fruit will be sour, but if the early fruit is sweet then the ripe fruit will be sweet too.  If Jesus has become our early fruit, then our life will take on His form, which is a quality guarantee.    Once you know that you have seal of the Lord on you, you must live a life worthy of it, and you can claim victory again the enemy in the name of the Lord.  Just like what Paul said in Galatians 6:17: "Finally, let no one cause me trouble, for I bear on my body the marks of Jesus."  On the other hand, you also need to be united with others who have the same seal, because the sanctuary of the Lord doesn't just have you alone.  We are like blocks of stone that the Holy Spirit is stacking up in order for us to be united, be edified together, and ultimately to become a glorious temple.  One block of stone won't have any glory, but once a temple built, the whole temple reflects the glory of the Lord.  May God help us to be edified together in the Kingdom of God!                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because your Holy Spirit is living within us.  We have become your temple, and we also know that we belong to you.  In our daily life, help us to live worthy of the seal, so that you may receive the greatest glory through us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:19-20

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2:19-20   "Consequently, you are no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household, built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, with Christ Jesus himself as the chief cornerstone."   Those in Christ are "members of God's household," and this is a very important value to the Christians.  The value system of the Kingdom of God is the value system of our spiritual home.  Paul very clearly said here that we are "no longer foreigners and aliens, but fellow citizens with God's people and members of God's household."  Those who believe in the Lord form a big spiritual family.  Since we are in the same family, we should carry out the value system of the family.  What is the key factor to having a happy family?  Is it money, indulgence, or good fortune?  None of them!  If it was that easy, then all the families ought to be happy and satisfied.  It is nonetheless mutual love, support and accountability that make a family edifying to its members and bring real satisfaction and happiness.  A healthy family doesn't follow the value system of the world, where people strive satisfy themselves and control others, but instead everyone will seek to edify and satisfy others.   Life in God's Kingdom is much the same.  God not only saved us from sin, He also brought us into a new body, which is the church, the house of God.  Through this body, our relationship with God and others is established.  Just like what Psalm 68 says, in God's sanctuary He gives the lonely ones a home.  People are supposed to be lonely entities; whether we are single or married, we are just individuals, but God's love joins us together to form one big family.   It is always God's will to form a body, but it is always the devil's ploy to destroy the body.  God's will is to let the lonely entities form a new body through connections made by the love of Christ, but Satan's ploy is to break up the new body into the status of lonely individuals.  It's not easy to live in a spiritual family; we are often afraid what would happen to ourselves if we only care about edifying and satisfying others.  God's word, however, says that we ought to live by faith, not by sight.  If you live by sight, you won't be able to move forward, but we can live by faith, which is established in our God who never lies.  By faith we believe that when we live to edify and support each other, not only can others be edified, we can also be edified.  We can also by faith become a living testimony that edify and satisfy others.                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you have put us in a spiritual family so that we can support, love and edify one another.  May the Lord give us a humble and soft heart so that we would know your will.  Let us work together with one another in the church so that we have beautiful living testimonies.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:16-18

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2: 16-18   ".. and in one body to reconcile both of them to God through the cross, by which he put to death their hostility. He came and preached peace to you who were far away and peace to those who were near. For through him we both have access to the Father by one Spirit."                   The gospel of Jesus Christ is the peace-making gospel, we are first reconciled to God through this gospel. Separated by sin, our relationship with God was broken, yet because of Lord Jesus's work on the cross, the enmity between God and us is broken. When we partake the Holy Communion, it is a reminder of this truth, Jesus's broke his body for us so that we can repair and restore our relationship with God.                  Next, this gospel reconciles us to people. The hostility among us, inability to forgive and accept each other, harboring grudges, not letting go, dwelling on the past hurt, getting even, in God's grace these things will be taken away. Christians must face this matter seriously, firmly prohibiting the enemy to control you through hostility and hurt. For many years, you and I pay lip service to the teachings of forgiveness, now in the name of the victorious Jesus, we have to stop the work of the enemy, declare our freedom in the name of the Lord and make peace with others!                  Third, this gospel will make us a peacemaker. God gives us the mission to preach the gospel, to bring the lost souls of this world before Him. Looking around the world, you'll find that God-given mission is not to preach the gospel just to people far away, it is also to preach to people who are near. The people far away are the overseas missions, many churches overlook overseas missions, they said, "we can't take care of the far away people as we can't even take care of people around us." Thanks to the Lord that Taylor Hudson did not listen to such sayings, so the Gospel reached China; Livingstone did not listen to such sayings, so the Gospel reached Africa. We need to actively participate in world missions, because God's work is always global, not local. Only through knowing God's work in the world can we work effectively at the local level. This gospel also needs to reach the people who are near, they are family members, friends and the people around you. Our eyes should look not only the faraway places while ignoring the places near us, preaching the gospel is never witnessing at only the ends of the earth, it is from Jerusalem to the ends of the earth, starting from your own home and your own town. Ask God to help us to become a peacemaker!                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we put our lives in your hands, help us to see your given "peace-making" mission, knowing the need to preach the gospel not only to the people far away, there is also the need to preach to the people who are near. Ask the Lord to open our hearts to witness in daily lives with glory, and to draw all men unto you. We give thanks and pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:14-15

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2: 14-15   For he himself is our peace, who has made the two groups one and has destroyed the barrier, the dividing wall of hostility,  by setting aside in his flesh the law with its commands and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new humanity out of the two, thus making peace.    Erecting walls are human nature and people are good at raising walls among their fellow people, families as well as churches.  This is because the ability to erect walls is a sign of superiority and righteousness while, in fact, our righteousness in the eyes of God is only a piece of wretched cloth. This is the very reason that Jesus died for our sins on the cross.  His death has severed us from the bondage of our own self-centeredness and righteousness.  As we humble ourselves and confess our sins, we would come to recognize the walls we erected most of our lives have disappeared because with His salvation, the Lord has removed all walls.        A book called, "Stubborn Love"  describes a middle-aged couple who had squabbled since their marriage and now their children are all gone leaving this couple alone.  One day, they squabbled again on how the toilet paper should be placed.  After the husband had left the house for work, the wife was still furious and decided to take her life.  As she took a razor blade trying to cut her wrist, the phone rang and she wanted to wait for the phone to stop ringing before committing the act.  The phone continued ringing for 15 times and she finally picked up the phone.  It was a call from a brother who had just joint their church.  He told her on the   phone, "Sister, in the name of our Lord, I ask you to stop whatever you are doing!"  She knew immediately that was the words from God and she knelt down to confess her sins and, as a result, she was remorseful of her past behavior in mistreating her husband.  That evening, she decorated her home and prepared a delicious meal for her husband.  When her husband returned home, he handed her a letter. To her surprise, it was a copy of his will.  It happened that her husband remained angry after arriving in his office and wanted to commit suicide. When he raised his gun, it suddenly dawned on him that he is a Christian and knelt down to pray immediately.  God's spirit let him realized he had mistreated his wife all those days; he then knelt down and confess his sins in front of God.  At that moment, they embraced each other crying and vowed to start their lives with a new beginning.    Brothers and sisters, salvation can break down any walls!  May the Lord help us so that we would never to build the walls  that God has taken down again!                                                                                         Pray with Pastor Tong           Brother and sister, have you erected walls separating you from your family,  brothers and sisters and friends?  In the victorious name of Jesus, break down all these walls for God has already forgiven all our sins. May the Lord help us never to rebuild them again.  May You be our Lord and restore all severed relationships.  With thanks we pray in the name of our victorious Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:11-13

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2: 11-13   Therefore, remember that formerly you who are Gentiles by birth and called "uncircumcised" by those who call themselves "the circumcision" (which is done in the body by human hands) - remember that at that time you were separate from Christ, excluded from citizenship in Israel and foreigners to the covenants of the promise, without hope and without God in the world. 13 But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far away have been brought near by the blood of Christ.   We were called Gentiles before as this word depicts those who have not been circumcised.  Circumcision , by itself, is precious but has since  shamefully become a wall separating man from God.  Actually, this phenomenon existed not only in the early churches, but the churches today.  The rules and regulations of today's churches have become walls separating  among churches as well as among their people.  Examples like:  method of baptism, frequency of holy communion, issues of the Holy Spirit have all becomes walls. People have been separated because of all these rules and regulations - what used to be the body of Christ initially is now broken into pieces, and the root cause of which is actually the result of our own self-centeredness.  Based on our own experience, we feel we are absolutely right and condemn those with experience different from ours.  More dreadfully, we fight for the sake of the truth in the name of the Holy Spirit damaging  the body of Christ as well as you and me.   I have never come across an army fighting within itself except in the churches.  This is heart-breaking on one hand, and, on the other, we need to confess our sins wholeheartedly asking God to take away our deep-seated prejudice so that we would no longer criticize others  according to what we have received.  May the Lord help us stride toward unity with the help of the Holy Spirit.                                                                                    Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank You for Christ has taken down the walls of destruction as there are walls erected among churches and among their people.  May You help us humble ourselves and confess our sin of self-centeredness, and break down these walls now.  With thanks we pray, in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!

Today's Passage - Ephesians 2:8-10

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Ephesians 2:8-10   For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God- not by works, so that no one can boast. For we are God's handiwork, created in Christ Jesus to do good works, which God prepared in advance for us to do.   Do you know you are God's handiwork? Since you are God's handiwork, you should have a different attitude when you face your life. Handiwork is a process. When God is working on you, his hands are like the potter's hands, slowly molding the clay until it becomes the instrument he intended. While we are in this process, we can stop and take a look and feel that it does not look like anything, yet we can be sure that God's hands are continuing to work until we become his instruments. This is the hope we have in our hearts. 1 John 3:2 says, "Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is."   Not only do we need this kind of assurance, but we also need this kind of understanding in the way we treat one another. Just like when there's construction on the road, the workers will put up a sign that says, "Under construction, sorry for any inconvenience caused!" When we see this sign, we can bear the inconvenience because we know this is only temporary. In the same way, in every Christian's life we should put up this kind of a sign, because God's work in our life is not yet finished. May God give us a patient heart to bear with one another.   Secondly, handiwork comes with a mission to do good works, which is what God calls us to do. The good work mentioned here is not referring to what people calls good deeds from good people or improvements for the general public, but it is referring to the work God has prepared for us to do. God has a mission in everyone's life. Every day we are not just living for our daily necessities, but even more we need to know the work God has prepared for us and called us to do and to do them accordingly. This kind of sense of mission sets us apart and lets us not be the same as the people in the world.   Many years ago when I went to do prayer walking in the capital, Washington D.C., I deeply felt the reality of this kind of sense of mission. Because I carry with me the mission to pray for the country, even though I am among the tourists, yet my attitude is totally different. In the Christian life, we also carry the mission God has entrusted to us. Even though we are living on earth and it seems like we are not different from the other people in the world, yet we need to carry out the work God has prepared for us. This is a completely different level for us to live. May God help us to live out this kind of a life.                                                                                     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you that I am a handiwork in your hands. You are continually shaping me in my life until it is according to your will. Lord, I ask you to open the eyes of my heart to know that I have a mission while living on earth. Let me keep this sense of mission and be a good witness for you every day. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, Amen!