Today's Passage - Luke 10:25-28

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 10:25-28   "On one occasion an expert in the law stood up to test Jesus.  'Teacher,' he asked, 'what must I do to inherit eternal life?'  'What is written in the Law?' he replied. 'How do you read it?'  He answered: 'Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind'; and, 'Love your neighbor as yourself.'  'You have answered correctly,' Jesus replied. 'Do this and you will live."   First of all, we need to worship God with all our heart.  It doesn't just mean to let the worshipping come from our heart, but also to make sure it pleases God.  Worship is a subjective experience, and everyone does it differently; however, if the Lord is in our midst, will He enjoy the worship?  We often value our own tradition, habit or taste more than what pleases God.  If we are persevering through our own worship more than enjoying it, of course God will not be enjoying it.  The Bible taught us to "worship the Father in spirit and truth," because God is a spirit, and thus we need to worship Him in spirit and truth.  While our own spirit and truth are both important, it's even more important for the Holy Spirit and teachings of the truth to guide us to worship God.   Next, we also need to worship with all our soul.  When we think about loving God, we most likely will associate it with paying a price, responsibilities, sacrifice, etc.  When we come before God, we often ask more than praise, and we seldom come before God just to say "I love you."  We feel uncomfortable when we see others raising their arms and sing "I love you Lord!"  We, however, are more than joyful when our kids come to us asking for a hug; we will eagerly embrace them and kiss them.  If we are so willing to receive the openly-expressed love from our children, wouldn't God also want us to openly express our love for Him?  May God help us, let us turn back to be like children.   Third, we should worship with all our mind.  Truth worship is not just an emotional experience, but it should also elevate our understanding of God.  Isaiah said that when he went before God to worship, he realized how holy and righteous God is and that He is our Master who's sitting on the throne.  Because of such understanding, he laid down on the ground and acknowledged that he was unclean.  We cannot separate worship from knowledge of God.  In fact, a person's worship will never surpass the level of his knowledge of God, for one will only weep for his sin when he knows the holiness of God, and one will only dare to surrender everything to God when he knows God's love and faithfulness.   Finally, we need to worship with all our strength.  The Bible has associated body language with praise and worship.  The various formats of worship, including raising hands, shouting in joy, clapping to proclaim victory and laying on the ground, are not just trademarks of the Charismatics or product of western culture.  In fact, these expressions during worship gave the believers in the early traditional church great relief in the spirit.  While true worship is not about singing particular songs or using certain format, but some formats or songs undeniably make it easier for us to open our hearts.  May God help us to worship Him with an open heart today!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you for teaching us to worship you with all our heart, all our soul, all our strength and all our mind.  Let us open our heart to worship you, and let your will be greatly satisfied.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 10:21-24

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 10:21-24   "At that time Jesus, full of joy through the Holy Spirit, said, 'I praise you, Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because you have hidden these things from the wise and learned, and revealed them to little children. Yes, Father, for this was your good pleasure.  All things have been committed to me by my Father. No one knows who the Son is except the Father, and no one knows who the Father is except the Son and those to whom the Son chooses to reveal him.'"   The will of God is always manifested to the humble ones, but hidden from those who think they are smart and prudent, for only the humble ones will receive grace and guidance from God.  Little children represent humility, because they need to completely rely on the assistance of someone else and cannot solve any of their own problems.  Similarly, we need to learn to completely rely on God, to come before God everyday to seek His guidance and help.  Without revelation from God, people cannot know God at all or to understand anything spiritual.  In fact, the entire Christianity faith is never about people seeking God, but rather God seeking people.  God revealed Himself to people so that people can know Him and be close to Him, otherwise there is no way for people to know God.   There are two types of revelation from God in the Bible:   Revelation through the nature created by God.  Roman 1:20 say that "For since the creation of the world God's invisible qualities - his eternal power and divine nature - have been clearly seen, being understood from what has been made, so that men are without excuse."  When we witness the beauty of nature, we would praise in our heart, "how beautiful!"  This praise is to give glory to the Lord of the creation, to know that there is a creator in this universe.  A person with a humble heart can understand the revelation of God. Revelation through God's Word, the Bible.  The Spirit of God wrote the Bible through its authors, and God's Word ultimately points to Jesus.  Through God's Word and specific revelations, we may begin to understand things in the Spirit and our sins, understand God's will, and to turn back to God.  May God forgive our sins, let us once again come back to Him, and accept the grace of God.  We must humbly come before God and acknowledge that we need revelations from God; we need to have a humble heart in order to understand spiritual matters and be prudent in spirit.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you!  Please give us a humble heart to accept your revelations.  Let our spiritual mind be opened so that we may understand spiritual matters and understand your will. Please give us a courageous heart to follow your word.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 10:17-20

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 10:17-20   "The seventy-two returned with joy and said, 'Lord, even the demons submit to us in your name.'  He replied, 'I saw Satan fall like lightning from heaven.  I have given you authority to trample on snakes and scorpions and to overcome all the power of the enemy; nothing will harm you.  However, do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven.'"   The ministry of the Lord on earth was about preaching the gospel, healing the sick and casting out demon.  When Jesus selected the twelve disciples, he also commanded the disciples to preach the gospel, heal the sick and cast out demon.  In this passage, He sent seventy-two people out and gave them authority to do exact the same things.  These seventy-two came back joyfully, reported that even the demon had submitted to them.  If we were one of the seventy-two, we would have been overwhelmed with joy as well.  The Lord, however, said to them, "Do not rejoice that the spirits submit to you, but rejoice that your names are written in heaven."  In other words, He told them not to value the ministry on the outside, but it is more important to know whether our life is connected to the grape vine.  Signs and wonders will muddle our vision and attract our hearts, but actually distancing ourselves from true God.   In the Sermon on the Mount, the Lord mentioned that not everyone who cries out "Lord, Lord" will enter the kingdom of heaven.  There will even be those came before the Lord and said "Lord, didn't I heal the sick and cast out demon in your name?"  The Lord responded to him, "I don't know you."  That is because their life was not connected to the life of the Lord.  We cannot value signs and wonders more than we value the Lord Himself.  People like things that look good on the outside and seek after signs and wonders, but it is more important to have our life connected to the life of the Lord.  That's why the Lord said "I am the vine, and you are the branches."  Branches must retrieve strength and energy from the vine.  Every believer must be connected to the vine of life, the Lord Himself, to retrieve power and strength we need for living everyday.   On the other hand, the Lord gave us the authority to defeat any enemy!  As soon as you accept Jesus to be your personal savior, Lord has already given you the authority to defeat the enemy.  Unfortunately, many Christians don't understand this truth, and don't know how to use such authority.  We can actually stand firm and tell the enemy, "go away!"  Jesus has already resurrected from death, and the power of resurrection has given us the authority to set the captive free.  May the Spirit of God open our eyes once again, so that we can use this authority everyday to defeat any attack or ploy of the enemy.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because you have given me the authority to defeat the enemy.  Lord, please open our eyes to understand your truth, and to know how to exercise the authority given to us in our life everyday to rebuke the work of the enemy Satan.  Let us experience victory on your throne.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 10:8-16

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 10:8-16   "'When you enter a town and are welcomed, eat what is set before you.  Heal the sick who are there and tell them, "The kingdom of God is near."  But when you enter a town and are not welcomed, go into its streets and say, "Even the dust of your town that sticks to our feet we wipe off against you."  Yet be sure of this: The kingdom of God is near...'  'He who listens to you listens to me; he who rejects you rejects me; but he who rejects me rejects him who sent me.'"   This scripture passage mentioned twice that the kingdom of God is near.  This is the theme that Jesus preached while He was on earth, and it is also the message entrusted to the disciples.  When the kingdom of God is near, two types of events will happen.  First, the authority of God will be manifested, and the authority of the devil Satan will not survive; it's like when light shines into a dark house, the darkness will disappear after light enters the house.  In the same way, when the kingdom of God comes, all those who are under bondage of sin will experience deliverance, the sick will experience healing, and those in worries and fear will experience peace and joy.  When the Lord comes, all bondages will be broken and all authority of darkness will be chased away.  Hallelujah!    When you are reading the Lord's Prayer, you must proclaim it by faith.  When you read "Lord, may your kingdom come," you are really asking: Lord, break all the bondages of sin in my life, heal my illnesses, and take away any darkness in my life.  When you proclaim it by faith, you will find that the Lord's Prayer will come true in your life with power, because when the kingdom of God comes, the authority of God will be manifested.   On the other hand, kingdom of God also represents judgment, it's a choice one has to make, just like how light and darkness cannot coexist.  A person must come before the Lord and make a decision: choose to reject light and remain in darkness, or choose light and chase out darkness.  We cannot be in the darkness and in the light at the same time, similarly when the Lord's kingdom comes, we must have a decision whether to accept or reject it.  Rejecting the Lord means we will remain in the authority of the darkness and the judgment of God will ultimately come upon us.  Accepting the Lord means we will be delivered and freed from the darkness.   May the Spirit of the Lord help us to open our life, welcome the light of God to enter us, and also welcome the authority of God's kingdom to move in our life.  We will experience deliverance, healing, joy and peace of God only if we open ourselves and let God work inside us, so let us make the right decision today!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because you are the light of life, and I welcome you to come into our life.  If we are in bondage of fear or worries, we ask that you can come and release me, so that I may enter your presence again to enjoy your grace.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 10:1-7

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 10:1-7   "After this the Lord appointed seventy-two others and sent them two by two ahead of him to every town and place where he was about to go.  He told them, 'The harvest is plentiful, but the workers are few.  Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field. Go! I am sending you out...'"   If the harvest was plentiful back in those times, then how about today?  This is the time when a lot more harvest is ready.  Looking at God's work around the world, ripe harvest is indeed everywhere.  The great revival in Argentina has continued for more than 20 years; before the revival, a church with a few people was considered good, but now there are many churches with hundreds and thousands of people.  Mainland china also has a high-growth in the number of new salvations, as on average tens of thousands of people accept the Lord there everyday.  In Africa, God has been using German evangelist Reinhard Boonke to bring many to Christ wherever he went.  The Spirit of God is moving around the world, so we can clearly see that this is the time of harvest.  Let us ask the Lord of the harvest to send more workers out; not just sending someone else, but to bring ourselves before Him and ask the Lord to send us to gather His harvest.   In John Chapter 4, the Lord said that the ripe harvest was turning white.  The crops are supposed to turn yellow when it's ripe, not white, so why did the Lord describe it that way?  Actually, the crops will turn white when they are about to be rotten.  That is the time we are in right now; the crops are turning white, so we must quickly gather the Lord's harvest.  When the crops are ripe in the field, everyone will stop working on their jobs and all the schools will close, because everyone must focus fully on gathering the harvest.  When we do it together, the crops can be gathered in a short time and to be stored in the barn.   Today, there is also urgency in the Lord's will.  When we see the work that God is doing around the world, we know that He's moving fast.  The Lord said that when the Kingdom of Heaven is preached to the end of the earth, then the day of Lord will come.  The day of Lord is indeed coming ever quickly; when we make an effort to preach the gospel to the ends of the earth, we are speeding up the return of the Lord.  Let us keep a heart of hope and eagerly expect the Lord's return, and also do our best to spread the gospel to speed up the pace of the Lord's return.  We ask God to encourage us and be willing to pray before Him: "Lord, we know that your harvest is ready, so please send us!"     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, please open our eyes to see that you have an eager heart, and this is the time when harvest is ready.  Let us prepare ourselves to be sent by you, to enter the field to gather the harvest.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 9:57-62

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 9:57-62   "As they were walking along the road, a man said to him, 'I will follow you wherever you go.' Jesus replied, 'Foxes have holes and birds of the air have nests, but the Son of Man has no place to lay his head.'  He said to another man, 'Follow me." But the man replied, "Lord, first let me go and bury my father.'  Jesus said to him, 'Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God.'  Still another said, 'I will follow you, Lord; but first let me go back and say good-by to my family.'  Jesus replied, 'No one who puts his hand to the plow and looks back is fit for service in the kingdom of God.'"   We want to follow the Lord, but we also have many concerns that we can't completely follow Him.  When someone comes to the Lord and said "I will follow you wherever you go," very often the way that the person has envisioned is different from the way that the Lord is going to take.  He might think going far away for mission work is just to stay at a hotel and have someone take care of everything, but Jesus said here that "the Son of Man has no place to lay his head," which is like saying "you might think following me is easy, and we'll be welcome everywhere; the reality is that there are many places where no one will welcome us and take care of us.  Do you really want to follow me?"  Lord also clearly laid out the cost of following him; when someone wanted to follow Him, but said "Lord, first let me go and bury my father," the Lord said "Let the dead bury their own dead, but you go and proclaim the kingdom of God."  Lord didn't mean that he shouldn't care about his father, but he shouldn't let family relationship become a hindrance to following the Lord.   People use all types of seemingly justified reasons to place following the Lord at the second priority in their life.  We often hear that a person wants to follow the Lord into full-time ministry, but he will only follow the Lord completely after he has major achievements, his children are grown-ups, and nothing else in the world will hold him back.  But when all these are accomplished, we are typically in our old age.  There's no better time than now to make the decision to follow the Lord!  No matter how many concerns and burdens you have in your life, there's nothing impossible in God!  Today is the best day to start following the Lord.   What are the worries in your life?  What are the things that you keep on looking back at?  May God help us to lay down all our worries and burdens, and bring everything before the Lord.  God is the ruler who provides everything that we need in life, and He will provide us with all our needs according to His glorious riches.  Follow Him with all our heart, and He will provide us for all our needs!     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because you are our faithful God.  May God have mercy on us, for we often put our hand on the plow but look back at the same time.  Let us lay down all our worries inside before you, because we know that you will provide us for all our needs.  Let us focus our eyes on you and follow you with all our heart and all our mind.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!

Today's Passage - Luke 9:51-56

River of Life Christian Church ︳www.rolcc.net/english Luke 9:51-56   "...but the people there did not welcome him, because he was heading for Jerusalem.  When the disciples James and John saw this, they asked, 'Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?'  But Jesus turned and rebuked them, and they went to another village."   The Samaritan and Jews didn't talk to each other back then, because Samaritans are the offspring of Assyrians and Jews.  The Jews looked down on them, and for years they were in the state of hostility.  When the Samaritans saw that Jesus and the disciples were walking towards Jerusalem, they didn't want to welcome them.  That why the disciples said: "Lord, do you want us to call fire down from heaven to destroy them?"  The disciples said that because the hatred from the past still resided in them, so they wanted the Lord to send fire to burn these people that they didn't like.  Jesus, however, told them that they didn't know what's in their own heart.   We do not know what's in our heart before God.  Sometimes we are filled with vengeance, self-centeredness, or self-righteousness, and we don't understand the heart of the Lord.  People often just want to fight for their own right, or to seek justice for themselves, but don't understand that God's will is always to sacrifice and to save the people.   John was later referred to as the "disciple of love," because he wrote the Gospel of John and the letters of 1, 2 and 3 John.  These books are filled with words of love, and John seemed to be a completely different person from how he was described in Luke.  When we examine a person, we shouldn't just examine him once and make judgment, like how John looked like a person who was completely without love.  When you see what God has done on him at the end and how he was used to write the messages of love in the letters of 1, 2 and 3 John, you will see how precious it is for God to accomplish His work on someone.  Brothers and sisters, don't just look at your current situation and think that you don't look like the Lord in any way, shape or form; instead, you must believe that God's work on you hasn't been completed yet.  Let Him continue to work on you until you turn back from your own will and can understand the will of the Lord more and more.  You must be full of hope in the Lord and allow Him to keep on working on you, until His work is completed.     Pray with Pastor Tong           Dear Lord, I thank you because your work on us is precious.  We see how Apostle John was in this passage and how he became a disciple of love, and we know that you also want to work on our life until the day your work is done.  May your Spirit help us to open our hearts, and allow your work to continue till it's done.  I thank you and I pray in the victorious name of Jesus, amen!