Today's Passage - Romans 6:12-14

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 6:12-14   "Therefore do not let sin reign in your mortal body so that you obey its evil desires. Do not offer the parts of your body to sin, as instruments of wickedness, but rather offer yourselves to God, as those who have been brought from death to life; and offer the parts of your body to him as instruments of righteousness. For sin shall not be your master, because you are not under law, but under grace."   If we offer our life as sacrifice to God, we must begin with offering our body to Him. That's why Paul encouraged us in Romans 12:1: "...offer your bodies as living sacrifices, holy and pleasing to God - this is your spiritual act of worship." Why is it so important to offer our bodies? It is because our bodies are our tools for living. Every little thing that we do in life involves our bodies, so we need to be watchful whether our bodies are submitting to Lord's authority. Imagine if every Sunday morning you want to get up to attend Sunday school, but your feet don't want to get off the bed. No matter how willing you are, you won't make it to Sunday school.   So how do we not allow sin to rule over our bodies that are bound for death? We must not follow our desires, not let our physical desires rule our daily life. For example, we eat only because we are hungry and sleep on when we are tired; if we only follow our physical desires, we will only be satisfying our desires for the moment but end up with eternal emptiness. Therefore, Paul encouraged us to offer our bodies to God so that we may manifest the righteousness of God. In fact, sin cannot rule our bodies because we have already been redeemed by the Lord at a high price. We are living in His grace today, so the Lord will guide us to claim victory against all physical desires. What is your situation today? Who is ruling your life and your body? Is it the Lord, or is it your physical desires? May the Lord's Spirit come and release you today!                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please help us to make the right choice everyday, so that we'll not let our bodies become tools for sin, but offer our bodies to the Lord to become the tools for righteousness. I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 6:9-11

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 6:9-11   "For we know that since Christ was raised from the dead, He cannot die again; death no longer has mastery over Him.  The death he died, He died to sin once for all; but the life He lives, He lives to God.  In the same way, count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus."   A victorious Christian life is one that is dead towards sin and alive towards God.  The key of such life is to see ourselves in the right way, for how a person sees himself greatly affect every move that he makes.  For example, if a high jumper truly sees that he can jump over the bar, no matter how many times he fails, he will eventually jump over the bar.  On the contrary, if he doesn't see that he can ever jump over certain height, he probably will never will.  Not only does the way we see ourselves carry deep impact, how we see others always impact them.  A school once conducted an experiment, where a teacher taught two classes that have the same level, but he told one class that they are gifted and the other class they are underperformers.  One year later, the "gifted" class achieved higher scores, while the "underperformed" class actually underperformed with fallen grades.  How we see others can impact the way and attitude in which we treat them.   It is particularly true in spiritual matters that how we see ourselves impact us tremendously.  If we see ourselves as children of God who are redeemed by Jesus who paid a steep price and dispatched on earth as ambassadors for God, we will watch every move that we make to ensure we look like ambassadors.  We won't ever look down on ourselves and we won't sin freely.  If you see yourself as the same old self, then your Christian life will be the same old life without any change.  It works the same way in ministry; if you know that you have become victorious with the Lord and you are sitting on the throne with Him with authority to defeat the enemy, then you should have the guts and courage to rebuke the enemy and to break the authority of darkness.   In Christ, we can see ourselves as alive.  "In Christ" means we are in God's plan of salvation, which has been promised by God according to His rich abundance.  In fact, in the Lord we already have the authority to proclaim victory against the enemy and to live a victorious life; we, however, are often deceived by the enemy to see ourselves as failure.  When the Israelites were conquering the town of Hebron, they sent twelve spies in and they came back to tell the Israelites that the enemy was like giants and Israelites were like grasshoppers in comparison.  The Bible said the hearts of the people melted.  Brothers and sisters, do you know that you are overcomers in Christ?  You need to see yourself as dead towards sin but alive towards God!                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because on the cross you have defeated all the work of the enemy, and you have given the same authority for victory to us.  May the Lord help us, let us never live under the deception on the enemy again so that we can live victoriously each and every day.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 6:9-11

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 6:5-8   "If we have been united with him like this in his death, we will certainly also be united with him in his resurrection. For we know that our old self was crucified with him so that the body of sin might be done away with, that we should no longer be slaves to sin - because anyone who has died has been freed from sin. Now if we died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him."   The meaning of baptism is for us to die, be buried and be resurrected with the Lord. The difference between being alive and dead is whether a person responds. When a person ceases to respond to things, it's like his heart is dead. On the contrary, when the same person becomes interested in many things and responds to things, it's like he became alive again.   To "die with Christ" is to be dead towards to world with Jesus, which means we no longer response with love towards things of the world and no longer desire for sinful matters. The joy we receive from committing sin can only bring us temporary pleasure, but we'll be ultimately led into eternal emptiness. When a person's eyes turn to God, he will no longer desire the world. Suddenly he is released from burden of sin, because he no longer considers those things as important. That is the meaning of to "die with Christ."   To "live with Christ" means to become alive with Jesus, to begin responding to the Lord. Each time we read the scripture our heart will be touched, each time we worship we long to come before the Lord, and each time we serve God we are willing and honored.   We no longer complain about not having the manpower, money or time. Just like what Psalm 42 says, "As the deer pants for streams of water, so my soul pants for you, O God. My soul thirsts for God, for the living God." Brothers and sisters, is your heart alive or dead? A dead person won't know about sin, because he has no response towards anything. If your heart is still filled with things of the world, may God help us to lay down all your burdens before the Lord. Also, if your heart has been lukewarm towards God, may God give you a heart that is on fire!                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you have promised us that if we die with you, you will make us come alive with you. May the Spirit of the Lord renew our heart and soul right now so that we will love you more! I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 6:1-4

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 6:1-4   "What shall we say, then? Shall we go on sinning so that grace may increase?  By no means! We died to sin; how can we live in it any longer?  Or don't you know that all of us who were baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death?  We were therefore buried with him through baptism into death in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead through the glory of the Father, we too may live a new life."   The meaning of baptism is to die, be buried and be resurrected with the Lord.  The world is ruled by money, so our eyes often see nothing but dollar signs.  The world always values youth, so we adamantly pursue vanity in our appearance.  Our old selves like to follow the desires of our flesh, so we often hear people say "I just do whatever I want."  That is the way of self-centeredness and worldliness.  After we accept the Lord, however, we no longer follow the way of the world and the desires of our flesh.  We are willing to put our old selves to death on the cross with the Lord and let the life of Jesus be resurrected inside us.  Therefore, Paul said in Galatians 2:20: "I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me."  When the early church baptized new believers, they didn't proclaim "I baptize you in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost."  Instead, they would say "I put you to death in the name of the Father, Son and Holy Ghost."  It might sound creepy at first, but it is actually what happens!   "I no longer live" signifies that we will die with the Lord, and "Christ lives in me" signifies that we will start to live for the Lord.  Baptism is the turning point our life and also a major decision point, so we can take the ceremony lightly.  We often hear people say that "as long as you believe, it doesn't really matter whether you get baptized."  Actually, believe and be baptized are inseparable spiritual foundations; one is the experience insides, the other is the testimony outside, and they affirm each other.  To show that both are necessary, Paul said in Romans 10:9: "...if you confess with your mouth (outside)... and believe in your heart (inside)..., you will be saved."  I've seen many who come to church and claim to believe but never baptized.  They often wander in the spiritual wilderness and cannot have a breakthrough in their spiritual journey, because they cannot be absolutely sure that they are Christians.  They can't say that they are because they've not been baptized, but they are like Christians because they've spent years in the church, so many of them end up drifting away.   In addition, baptism is an important testimony.  Even non-believers know that once a person is baptized, it means he or she is a just a spectator, but a real believer.  Many people never encountered opposition from their family before they are baptized, but as soon as they want to be baptized, their family start to oppose their faith.  Evidently, baptism is a clear testimony of faith and it can't be treated lightly.  Do you know the true meaning of baptism?  Once you know the true meaning of baptism, you will not be able to live for yourself anymore, but you will live for the Savior who has died and was resurrected.                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, I thank you because you died for us, and you resurrected us from death.  May the Lord help us, let us die and live with you in our daily life, so that the power of resurrection of Christ will be manifested through us.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 5:16-19

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 5:16-19   "Again, the gift of God is not like the result of the one man's sin: The judgment followed one sin and brought condemnation, but the gift followed many trespasses and brought justification.  For if, by the trespass of the one man, death reigned through that one man, how much more will those who receive God's abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness reign in life through the one man, Jesus Christ.  Consequently, just as the result of one trespass was condemnation for all men, so also the result of one act of righteousness was justification that brings life for all men.  For just as through the disobedience of the one man the many were made sinners, so also through the obedience of the one man the many will be made righteous."   The message of the cross is "replacement."  Jesus was judged by God for sin on our behalf, and we are justified because of His grace.  The Bible often uses fire to represent the judgment of God.  One special characteristic of fire is that wherever it had burnt cannot be set on fire again.  In Australia there are bush forests all over the place.  When the forest catches fire in the summer, people will burn the short bushes around their house down to nothing.  When the forest fire reaches the spots that had those scorched bushes, it will simply stop.  In the same way, God's judgment will not come upon those who have already been judged.  When Jesus died on the cross for our sin, He already replaced us in taking on God's penalty for sin.  When we accept Jesus as our personal savior, He will live inside us.  In the future, when we face the God's judgment fire, the fire cannot harm us; because of Jesus, we are spared from the penalty of sin from God.   The cross has a simple message - You and I can come before the throne fearlessly because of the pressure blood of the Lord, and we can bring all our needs before the Lord in prayer.  He will give us his grace and mercy, and be our help anytime we need it.  It's not because we are worthy, but it's because of the Lord's mercy and replacement, which is what grace means.  Not only can we live like Jesus Christ when we are saved, but we also need God's grace in our daily life.  It doesn't mean that we can lose the grace, but it's easy for us to start depending on ourselves and not to depend on the Lord.  Living in the grace of God means we are willing to look up to the Father like His children.  We can come before God to obtain all the wisdom and strength that we need in order to face our daily life.  Brothers and sisters, are you willing to start today?                                Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, please give us children's heart so that we can totally look up to you.  Let us live in your grace each and every day.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 5:12-15

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 5:12-15   "Therefore, just as sin entered the world through one man, and death through sin, and in this way death came to all people, because all sinned-To be sure, sin was in the world before the law was given, but sin is not charged against anyone's account where there is no law. Nevertheless, death reigned from the time of Adam to the time of Moses, even over those who did not sin by breaking a command, as did Adam, who is a pattern of the one to come. But the gift is not like the trespass. For if the many died by the trespass of the one man, how much more did God's grace and the gift that came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!" The Bible says that the wages of sin is death. We must admit that everyone has to face death one day. No matter how powerful you may be, or how great your social status may be, or how many resourceful friends you may have, you still have to face death eventually. In order to promote its business, a coffin shop once played a pop song that was titled "One day you will come". This song is really a reminder to us. Just the fact that we all have to face death is the exact proof that people do live under the power of sin. This sin entered the world after Adam chose to commit sin. In fact, we as descendants of Adam keep on facing the choice of good or evil in our life. So many times we lost temper. So many times we owed others apologies. Maybe you didn't do those things on purpose. But that was your choice, wasn't it?   We have to take the consequence for every choice we make in our life. Death is the natural consequence of sin. Then do we still have hope in our life? Yes. Paul said: "But the gift is not like the trespass." Although death can control us because of the trespass, the Lord Jesus has already redeemed us on the cross. Where there is redemption, the debtor is no longer in control, and the judgment will never come.      For if the power of death came to many by the trespass of the one man, how much more did the grace and gift of eternal life came by the grace of the one man, Jesus Christ, overflow to the many!Praise the Lord. The gift is indeed not like the trespass. But we need to choose this gift. If we used to choose to sin that leads to death, now we can choose this gift to regain our life. In the grace of Jesus Christ, we can not only get the eternal life, but also enjoy God's presence on earth by walking with the Lord every day and never feeling lonely. No wonder Paul said: "how much more did God's grace and the gift overflow to the many!" God's grace overflows. Brothers and sisters, have you received this grace? If so, do you realize that you are blessed with the overflowing grace?                                 Pray with Pastor Tong           Lord, we thank you for telling us that "the grace is not like the trespass". In your grace, we can triumph over any power of the devil. May the Lord open our eyes so that we can understand how abundant your grace is, and help us walk in your grace every day. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Romans 5:6-11

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Romans 5:6-11 "You see, at just the right time, when we were still powerless, Christ died for the ungodly. Very rarely will anyone die for a righteous person, though for a good person someone might possibly dare to die. But God demonstrates his own love for us in this: While we were still sinners, Christ died for us. Since we have now been justified by his blood, how much more shall we be saved from God's wrath through him! For if, while we were God's enemies, we were reconciled to him through the death of his Son, how much more, having been reconciled, shall we be saved through his life! Not only is this so, but we also boast in God through our Lord Jesus Christ, through whom we have now received reconciliation."   Do you know that God loves you? Sometimes when you face this broken world with all the hatred, fighting, hurt and suffering in it, it is hard for you to feel God's love. You might think that God doesn't love you at all, otherwise why does He allow such things to happen to you? In fact, the Lord has already loved you in the most essential way. Why this world is broken is not only because of the change and transition of the circumstances. The ultimate reason lies in the fact that there is an evil self-centeredness inside us. This self-centeredness cuts off our relationship with God so we can never get satisfied. It also cuts off our relationship with others so we can never get peace and joy. We can't get healed from the brokenness, unless we are set free from the bondage of the sins.    God's love is the one to meet the most essential need of our life. Only when we receive God's sacrificing love first, will his grace continue to come down to us. God's love is not only limited to this. He also promises us a joyful life, for God himself will become our joy. John 15:5 says: "I am the vine, you are the branches". It means that we can start to receive all the necessary wisdom, strength and grace from God. When we persevere due to lacking, we can proclaim that the Lord is our perseverance. When we are lack of wisdom, we can come to the Lord for help. The Lord is the vine, our supplier and our savior.   2 Cor. 1:10 says: "He who rescued us from so deadly a peril will continue to rescue us". He not only rescues us, Psalms 42:5 also says: "my help". God loves both you and me. His love is far beyond our imagination. Brothers and sisters, just commit your life to God, for you know He already loved you, and He will continue to become the joy in your everyday life.                                     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, may you show us your love, which may become our joy every day. We thank you and we pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!