The Worst Thing and the Best Thing You Can Do For a Friend In Pain

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 2:1-13.  Let’s go!

On verses 1-8:  In chapter 1, Job passed his first test with flying colours.  Now a second test is coming.  God continues to boast of Job’s steadfast faith in Him, while Satan believes that if Job’s own health is taken away, Job will turn away from God and curse Him.  So, with the Lord’s permission, Satan afflicts Job with painful sores from head to toe all over his body.  The closest thing Job experiences to relief is scraping himself with a piece of broken pottery (v8).

What can we learn from this?  God has a good purpose in allowing sickness.  Once Jesus and his disciples met a blind man.  The disciples asked Jesus, “Who sinned – this blind man or his parents – to cause him to be blind?”  Jesus said, “Neither, but this happened so that the work of God might be displayed in his life” (John 9:3).  Then Jesus would go on to heal the man’s blindness in a most interesting and gradual way.  Though sickness is not God’s original plan for us, I believe God allows sickness and disease ultimately so that we would learn to trust Him and so that in His time He can display His redeeming, healing, resurrecting work in our lives.

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詩篇一百十九篇145-152節

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ק Qoph（第19段）

145耶和華啊，我一心呼籲祢，求祢應允我，我必謹守祢的律例。
146我向祢呼籲，求祢救我，我要遵守祢的法度。
147我趁天未亮呼求，我仰望了祢的言語。
148我趁夜更未換，將眼睜開，為要思想祢的話語。
149求祢照祢的慈愛聽我的聲音，耶和華啊，求祢照祢的典章將我救活。
150追求奸惡的人臨近了，他們遠離祢的律法。
151耶和華啊，祢與我相近，祢一切的命令盡都真實。
152我因學祢的法度，久已知道是祢永遠立定的。

在2020年的年初三，我們來看看可以從神的話語裡得到怎樣的提醒。這段經文若用英文來看，我們很快就會有感受了，我來列出幾句經文的前一小節：

I call out at the top of my lungs,我一心呼籲祢
I called to you, “Save me 我向祢呼籲，求祢救我
I was up before sunrise, 我趁天未亮呼求
I stayed awake all night, 我趁夜更未換，將眼睜開

這些經文讓我們看到大衛和神的關係，還有大衛的行動(action)。你平常會向誰呼求？你半夜時會想起誰呢？在新年之際，我們看到有很多人天未亮就去廟前排隊，為了想取得頭香，拿到發財籤；甚至也有人當黃牛去排隊，這些人為的都是錢，除了錢之外，還有什麼可以讓你心動到天未亮就起來？夜更未換就將眼睜開？

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詩篇一百十九篇137-144節

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ץ Tsadde（第18段）

137耶和華啊，祢是公義的，祢的判語也是正直的。
138祢所命定的法度是憑公義和至誠。
139我心焦急，如同火燒，因我敵人忘記祢的言語。
140祢的話極其精煉，所以祢的僕人喜愛。
141我微小被人藐視，卻不忘記祢的訓詞。
142祢的公義永遠長存，祢的律法盡都真實。
143我遭遇患難愁苦，祢的命令卻是我所喜愛的。
144祢的法度永遠是公義的，求祢賜我悟性，我就活了。

新年2020的第二天，我們還是希望新酒裝在新皮袋裡，能有一個嶄新的人生。有人說：如果連你自己都不喜歡你自己，你就不會對你自己很好，因為我們通常不會對不喜歡的人太好。所以你不喜歡你自己，你就不會做對自己有幫助的事情，你同意嗎？

那怎樣才能喜歡自己，對自己好，做對自己有幫助的事呢？

作者大衛在這段經文裡講到他微小被人藐視，大衛的身才材確實不是又高又有型的。在博物館裡，大衛王年輕時的雕像都是比較矮小的。現在的男孩子若長得矮小一點，上學有時會被欺負，被覇凌。大衛說到，他也是因為微小，所以被人渺視。

你有沒有被人渺視的經歷呢？大衛被人渺視，遭遇患難愁苦，但是他懂得抓緊神的話，緊緊地倚靠神。

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In Your Pain, Surrender to God

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 1:13-22.  Let’s go!

On verses 13-22:  In one day, four messengers come to Job, one after another, each delivering horrifying news: Sabeans attack and carry off Job’s donkeys and oxen (v13-15), fire from God (possibly lightning) falls and destroys his sheep (v16), Chaldeans attack and steal Job’s camels (v17), and by far most tragically of all, a hurricane-like wind causes the house in which Job’s children are partying to collapse, killing all of Job’s children (v18-19).  Notice that in two cases, the loss came as a result of attacks by people.  In the other two cases, the loss came as a result of “an act of God”.

In response, Job tears his robe and shaves his head in mourning.  Rather than cursing God or accusing God with wrongdoing (v22), Job falls to the ground in worship and speaks some of the most famous words in the book of Job:

Job 1:21 (NIV) 
21  …”Naked I came from my mother’s womb, and naked I will depart. The LORD gave and the LORD has taken away; may the name of the LORD be praised.”
 

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