Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 4:13-18. Let’s go!
2 Corinthians 4:13-14 (NIV)
13 It is written: “I believed; therefore I have spoken.” With that same spirit of faith we also believe and therefore speak,
14 because we know that the one who raised the Lord Jesus from the dead will also raise us with Jesus and present us with you in his presence.
On verses 13-14: Paul quotes this verse “I believed; therefore I have spoken” from Psalm 116:10 as a reminder to him and his team to keep speaking out what they believe, declaring God’s Word over their lives and reminding themselves of the truth that just as God raised Jesus from the dead, so God will raise Paul and his team up from the greatest hardships, even death itself.
When you’re going through great hardship the way Paul was, one of the best things you can is speak out your faith and speak out God’s Word. Praise God! There are thousands of promises from the Bible you can hang onto. For example, verses 16 and 17 below are worth memorizing and declaring. When you declare in faith what you know to be right and true, it keeps you from sinking into hopelessness or drifting into distraction.
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引言▶：有一首詩歌，我相信每個基督徒都非常的熟悉和喜歡，它不但歌詞感人而且旋律也有其鮮明的特色，讓人聽後難以忘懷。這就是被人譽為 “有史以來最偉大的讚美詩歌”《親愛主，牽我手》（Take My Hand，Precious Lord）。作者是一名美國的黑人。他一生的經歷是如此的跌遝起伏；他對福音音樂的傑出貢獻更讓他贏得了美國「福音音樂之父」之桂冠。他就是托馬斯·道塞（Thomas A. Dorsey）。下面我們就來介紹他的生平以及這首經典佳作創作背後的所發生故事。──徐彬
在經歷嚴重抑鬱症被神醫治的奇跡之後托馬斯開始認真思考信仰對人生的意義，加上又經歷了一位住在他樓下的基督徒鄰居的去世，由此啟發他創作了平生第一首藍調福音歌曲，取名為《如果你看到我的救世主，告訴祂你認識我》（”If You See My Savior, Tell Him That You Saw Me”）。
托馬斯他對藍調福音音樂的貢獻也無人能及。劍橋的「藍調和福音音樂之友」組織稱他實際上“定義了”這一音樂體裁。他對推動美國福音音樂發展所產生的重大影響，甚至讓他贏得了「福音音樂之父」之桂冠。不僅如此，他對藍調福音音樂的傑出貢獻甚至還影響了整個美國音樂世界，帶動了20世紀和21世紀前10年美國所有的主流音樂的變革。著名藍調評論家吉姆·奧尼爾(Jim O‘Neal)甚至將他與美國最有影響力的藍調作曲家W·C·漢迪(W.C.Handy)相提並論。他也因此成為第一位入選「納什維爾作曲家名人堂」（Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame）和「福音音樂協會名人堂」的非洲裔音樂家。
Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 4:7-12. Let’s go!
2 Corinthians 4:7 (NIV)
7 But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us.
On verse 7: The Corinthians were aware to some degree of Paul’s trials, hardships and weaknesses and some Corinthians would even say that these trials, hardships and weaknesses are evidence that Paul is not a “super apostle”. Paul responds by likening his faith and God’s Holy Spirit inside to a treasure that resides in a weak, brittle jar of clay – i.e. himself. This is consistent with Paul’s point in verse 5 that he is not here to preach about how good and strong he is but about how great and strong God is.
2 Corinthians 4:8-9 (NIV)
8 We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair;
9 persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.
On verses 8-9: I love Paul’s attitude. No matter how many problems Paul faced, Paul was found a big BUT in every problem. “We are hard pressed on every side, BUT not crushed; perplexed, BUT no in despair; persecuted, BUT not abandoned; struck down, BUT not destroyed.”
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2 Corinthians 4:1 (NIV)
1 Therefore, since through God’s mercy we have this ministry, we do not lose heart.
On verse 1: It’s only because of God’s mercy that we get to serve God and represent Him on this earth. It’s a privilege and an honour that we never earned or deserved, just one of the many benefits that comes from receiving God’s gift — Jesus Christ — by faith. If don’t feel worthy to serve God or you feel inadequate, remember: God in His mercy has saved you, chosen you and qualified you to serve Him. So serve Him with confidence, joy, perseverance and without fear.
2 Corinthians 4:2 (NIV)
2 Rather, we have renounced secret and shameful ways; we do not use deception, nor do we distort the word of God. On the contrary, by setting forth the truth plainly we commend ourselves to every man’s conscience in the sight of God.
On verse 2: Since it is because of God’s mercy that we can serve God and be called ministers in His kingdom, we don’t need to pretend to be someone we’re not, or act as if it all depends on us. Rather, we can just “set forth the truth plainly”. The truth of what? The truth of who God is as revealed in Jesus Christ and the truth of who we are, mere sinners who have been saved by His grace, who still make mistakes but who are loved, accepted and chosen by God through Jesus Christ.
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Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 3:7-18. Let’s go!
2 Corinthians 3:7-12 (NIV)
7 Now if the ministry that brought death, which was engraved in letters on stone, came with glory, so that the Israelites could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of its glory, fading though it was,
8 will not the ministry of the Spirit be even more glorious?
9 If the ministry that condemns men is glorious, how much more glorious is the ministry that brings righteousness!
10 For what was glorious has no glory now in comparison with the surpassing glory.
11 And if what was fading away came with glory, how much greater is the glory of that which lasts!
12 Therefore, since we have such a hope, we are very bold.
On verses 7-12: What is Paul talking about in verse 7? Paul is alluding to an incident from Exodus 34:29-35 where Moses carried two stone tablets containing God’s law (in particular, the Ten Commandments) to the people. As Moses came down the mountain carrying God’s law, Moses’ face radiated with God’s glory so much so that the people were afraid and asked him to cover his face with a veil.
Paul recalls this incident as a way to say that the old covenant, represented by Moses and the Ten Commandments, was glorious even though it was temporary (v7, 11), performance-based, and brought death (v7) and condemnation (v9) to people.
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2 Corinthians 3:1-3 (NIV)
1 Are we beginning to commend ourselves again? Or do we need, like some people, letters of recommendation to you or from you?
2 You yourselves are our letter, written on our hearts, known and read by everybody.
3 You show that you are a letter from Christ, the result of our ministry, written not with ink but with the Spirit of the living God, not on tablets of stone but on tablets of human hearts.
On verses 1 to 3: When Paul wrote 2 Corinthians, a number of people in his church were questioning his authority as an “apostle”, that is, as a leader who plants and leads a church. They compared Paul to other individuals who were known as “super apostles” (2 Corinthians 11:5 and 12:11), who looked more impressive than Paul was, and who brought with them letters of recommendation talking about their credentials. They thought, “Look at Paul. He faces problems, defeats and disappointments all the time, and he doesn’t have any letters of recommendation. So he mustn’t be a legitimate apostle.” Paul understandably was hurt that the very church he planted was now questioning his authority and competence as an apostle.
In response, Paul says, “We don’t need letters of recommendation, degrees or certificates, because the best proof of our competence as apostles is you! The fact that you continue to follow Christ as a community — is that not proof that God has been working through us?” (vv2-3).
Ironically, in the end it was Paul — the guy whose authority was questioned because he went through so much criticism, opposition and difficulty and wasn’t afraid to share about it — who ended up having the lasting legacy, whereas those super apostles faded out of history.
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20歲那年托馬斯懷著心中的夢想離開父母獨自一人來到當時美國藍調爵士音樂的中心城市─芝加哥，沉浸在滋潤的風城藍調之中。在那裏他的生活節奏變得非常的忙碌和辛苦。除了白天打工外，他還安排時間去「芝加哥作曲編排學院」學習相關課程，而到了晚上他又要去酒吧去彈琴。等到積累了一定理論基礎後他便開始嘗試創作藍調音樂；到21歲那年他創作的一首歌曲被正式授予版權，成為首批獲得藍調音樂版權的弄潮兒之一。
在實踐中托馬斯逐步形成了自己的藍調福音音樂理論和風格。他認為除了歌詞外，並不存在藍調音樂和教堂傳統音樂之間的根本區別，因此可以在詩歌創作中繼續保持藍調特有的旋律和演唱特色，只不過將這種源於早期黑人奴隸“靈歌”音樂中含有的絕望、痛苦、壓抑和渴望的情緒，通過福音的注入加以改變，成為安慰、醫治、盼望和釋放的源泉，用來讚美神。同時他還認為讚美詩歌本身就是口頭佈道的補充，需要有感情的投入；因此他鼓勵自己的詩班成員在唱詩時可以通過釋放自己手腳的動作節奏來加以配合。為了推廣他的理論和實踐，他還在1932年參與創立了「芝加哥福音合唱團大會」（後改為全美福音合唱團大會），用他的理念來培訓來自全美各地的音樂家和歌手。他在「朝聖者教會」擔任音樂總監長達五十年之久，見證了這家教會發展成為衛理公會在美國東部最大的非裔教會。（上圖即為朝聖者教會外觀的照片）
路易斯參加一場復興大會並擔綱其中的詩歌演出。雖然這是很早前就預定好的日程安排，但在臨行前他卻變得猶豫不決，因為他知道妻子內蒂·哈珀(Nettie Harper)懷孕已快到臨盆的時間了，而且這還是他們結婚多年後的第一個愛情結晶；最後還是因為妻子的寬慰和堅持才讓他成行。可就在在聖路易斯的演出過程中，他收到了一份電報，裏面的內容是：「你的妻子剛去世」。
受各國民眾的喜愛。人們經常把它與另一首著名詩歌《奇異恩典》相提並論，甚至還有聖詩評論家把這首詩歌評價為“有史以來最偉大的福音歌曲”。
