RLCC Podcast

Regardless of what has happened to us or what we have done, Jesus redeems all our stories.

What are you afraid of? For most people, the future makes them afraid. Who knows what will happen?

God has done a lot of wonderful things in our past. We are so thankful for that. But God is not just about the past. His grace is also new every morning. No matter how difficult yesterday was, today is always a new day.

Yes, it is our 25th anniversary! As we remember what has happened to us so far over the past 25 years, it is good to thank God for His grace. We have so many fond memories. But we also have not-so-good memories, events, and experiences, that we may want to forget rather than remember. Can we still give thanks even though they are not so good? How?

Last week, we talked about how you can see God’s dream for you right where you are. You just need to open your eyes and pay attention to God as He lays a burden in your heart. But what do you do when you have the seed of God’s dream or vision in your heart? You need to learn how to serve with a team instead of doing it all by yourself.

Having the correct view of God and success are foundational matters. They prepare you to be a dreamer and a doer. But you cannot be an ordinary dreamer. You cannot just dream about anything and then do it yourself. You need to see God's dream for you and pursue it by faith.

Is it wrong to aim for success in life? Is it wrong to be ambitious? Some people feel guilty about this. Others, of course, couldn't care less. They want to be successful in life no matter what. That's why personal ambitions drive them. But can we aim for success without compromising our faith? Can we be ambitious and still retain our commitment to Christ?

Why is it that some of us are bored? We are barely holding on to each day, hoping we will survive every working day, doing what we can to make our lives a little more interesting every now and then. Sometimes life can be exciting but only for a short while. Soon the realities will come rushing back into our minds and hearts discouraging and boring us once again. "What's the use?" we say to ourselv...

Leadership is all about managing one's credibility to influence others for the common good to the glory of God. We are all uniquely placed by God in various places to influence others. We are all saved to lead. Therefore, all of us have the potential to practice leadership. Unfortunately, not all of us are doing this right now. As a result, we're not doing the good works we're supposed to do to gl...

Some people say that what you don't know won't hurt you. But in the case of the church or the body of Christ, what we don't know will actually hurt us. This is especially true in the area of spiritual matters. Ignorance in this area will greatly affect us. To fulfill God's purpose for us in this world as His people would require spiritual health, growth, and maturity. These things cannot happen wi...

People think and believe by default that their past hurts and pains that resulted in their brokenness are a source of regret, waste, sadness, feeling inferior, less important, and unworthy to be an active part of His church. On the other hand, active members or leaders sometimes see broken people as a liability and an unwanted burden in the church. All Bible characters have their own brokenness st...

Not everyone today considers being a committed member of a local church as something essential in their Christian faith. Many simply view it as something practical, useful, or convenient. They attend a local church because it's near, because the worship is good, because there's adequate parking, because the preaching is relevant and short, because their families or friends are there, etc. In other...

God chooses various means to pour His grace upon our lives. It is grace alone that can enable us to be the kind of person He wants us to be and to do His will. Without grace, we cannot accomplish anything. This is the reason why we should be intentional in making abundant use of the various means of grace like prayer, bible meditation, and participation in sacred activities. But there is one means...

The Christian faith is personal, but it is never individualistic. We are not meant to just follow the Lord on our own, praying and reading the Scriptures, without being connected with others in the body of Christ. God's grace is poured out not just on us individually but also when we gather together as God's people through various sacred activities. In fact, there are four sacred activities where...

Rejection hurts. That's why we don't want to be rejected. But rejection always happens especially for those who sincerely want to obey Christ. We need to know how to handle rejection. Of course, our best example when it comes to handling rejection well is Jesus Christ. He suffered rejection more than anyone else. But He handled it very well each time.

Grace is just a prayer away! This is so true. Yet, many Christians fail to experience grace because they fail to pray. But how can we pray when we are so busy? How do we overcome our busyness? Well, we need God's grace to overcome our busyness! So, we're caught in this perpetual cycle of constantly trying and constantly failing to pray. What is the solution? The solution is to learn how to pray as...

God creates us for relationships. But not all relationships are good for us. Some of them are detrimental to our spiritual lives and can harm us or make us ineffective and unproductive. Ironically, the detrimental relationships that the Bible warns us about are not with regard to unbelievers or the people in the world. The apostle Paul says in 1 Cor 5:9-10, "I wrote to you in my letter not to asso...

Our ability to desire is basic to our humanity. God gave us this ability so that we will first desire Him and as a result find in Him the fulfillment of all our other desires. The apostle Paul said in Acts 17:26-27, "From one man he made all the nations, that they should inhabit the whole earth; and he marked out their appointed times in history and the boundaries of their lands. God did this so t...

We have an invisible enemy working behind our visible reality. That visible reality is called the "world" in the Scriptures. This does not refer to the beautiful world that we live in (e.g. the mountains, the sky, the seas, etc.). It refers to the systems and philosophies of the world. We must understand the nature of "this" world as the Bible describes it so that we can understand also why we str...

Why is it so hard to practice personal soul care in today's world? We usually complain about not having enough time or being too busy. Sometimes, we blame those around us for not helping us or they are hindering us. Or maybe we are not that motivated or interested in the first place. Whatever the reasons, the bottom line is that the struggle is real. It's never easy to practice personal soul care...

"Open Doors" are exciting opportunities to experience more of God's presence, power, and purpose. They can also be challenging and sometimes even confusing. That's why you need to seek God's guidance all throughout the experience, from beginning to end. But what if you actually miss an "Open Door" to begin with? What if you actually said "No!" to God? What do you do?

You tested an "Open Door." You sought the guidance of the Lord through prayer and spiritual direction. You're confident it is from the Lord. You now enter it by faith. But, suddenly, in the middle of the process, the situation begins to unravel. Something is wrong. Obstacles begin to arise that cause confusion and doubt in your heart. What do you do? What if an "Open Door" starts to be challenging...

An "Open Door" is an opportunity from God that we must "TEST" or discern. That is the nature of an "Open Door." It is not simply an opportunity that we must grab the moment we see it. Instead, we must take the time to pray and seek guidance from the Lord, especially through the help of spiritual friends or companions. It's not an easy task. We can make mistakes along the way. The choices are not a...

An "Open Door" is an opportunity given by God to us so that we can experience the presence of Christ, the purpose of God, and the power of the Holy Spirit. Thus, it is our foretaste of heaven on earth. But how do we know if an "Open Door" is actually set before us by God? What if we are wrong? How can we be sure? In other words, how do we discern an "Open Door"? The answer? We need to TEST it.

Christians are unaware of what is available to them because of Christ. Consequently, they miss the opportunities that God makes available for them if they will trust in Him. They waste their time and resources dabbling in worldly pursuits or false attachments. Many settle for mediocrity in their Christian lives instead of experiencing the glory of God. What they need is a deep understanding of the...