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▶：有一首诗歌，我相信每个基督徒都非常的熟悉和喜欢，它不但歌词感人而且旋律也有其鲜明的特色，让人听后难以忘怀。这就是被人誉为 “有史以来最伟大的赞美诗歌”《亲爱主，牵我手》（Take My Hand，Precious Lord）。作者是一名美国的黑人。他一生的经历是如此的跌遝起伏；他对福音音乐的杰出贡献更让他赢得了美国「福音音乐之父」之桂冠。他就是托马斯·道塞（Thomas A. Dorsey）。下面我们就来介绍他的生平以及这首经典佳作创作背后的所发生故事。──徐彬
在经历严重抑郁症被神医治的奇迹之后托马斯开始认真思考信仰对人生的意义，加上又经历了一位住在他楼下的基督徒邻居的去世，由此启发他创作了平生第一首蓝调福音歌曲，取名为《如果你看到我的救世主，告诉祂你认识我》（”If You See My Savior, Tell Him That You Saw Me”）。
托马斯他对蓝调福音音乐的贡献也无人能及。剑桥的「蓝调和福音音乐之友」组织称他实际上“定义了”这一音乐体裁。他对推动美国福音音乐发展所产生的重大影响，甚至让他赢得了「福音音乐之父」之桂冠。不仅如此，他对蓝调福音音乐的杰出贡献甚至还影响了整个美国音乐世界，带动了20世纪和21世纪前10年美国所有的主流音乐的变革。著名蓝调评论家吉姆·奥尼尔(Jim O‘Neal)甚至将他与美国最有影响力的蓝调作曲家W·C·汉迪(W.C.Handy)相提并论。他也因此成为第一位入选「纳什维尔作曲家名人堂」（Nashville Songwriters Hall of Fame）和「福音音乐协会名人堂」的非洲裔音乐家。
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岁那年托马斯怀着心中的梦想离开父母独自一人来到当时美国蓝调爵士音乐的中心城市─芝加哥，沉浸在滋润的风城蓝调之中。在那里他的生活节奏变得非常的忙碌和辛苦。除了白天打工外，他还安排时间去「芝加哥作曲编排学院」学习相关课程，而到了晚上他又要去酒吧去弹琴。等到积累了一定理论基础后他便开始尝试创作蓝调音乐；到21岁那年他创作的一首歌曲被正式授予版权，成为首批获得蓝调音乐版权的弄潮儿之一。
在实践中托马斯逐步形成了自己的蓝调福音音乐理论和风格。他认为除了歌词外，并不存在蓝调音乐和教堂传统音乐之间的根本区别，因此可以在诗歌创作中继续保持蓝调特有的旋律和演唱特色，只不过将这种源于早期黑人奴隶“灵歌”音乐中含有的绝望、痛苦、压抑和渴望的情绪，通过福音的注入加以改变，成为安慰、医治、盼望和释放的源泉，用来赞美神。同时他还认为赞美诗歌本身就是口头布道的补充，需要有感情的投入；因此他鼓励自己的诗班成员在唱诗时可以通过释放自己手脚的动作节奏来加以配合。为了推广他的理论和实践，他还在1932年参与创立了「芝加哥福音合唱团大会」（后改为全美福音合唱团大会），用他的理念来培训来自全美各地的音乐家和歌手。他在「朝圣者教会」担任音乐总监长达五十年之久，见证了这家教会发展成为卫理公会在美国东部最大的非裔教会。（上图即为朝圣者教会外观的照片）
路易斯参加一场复兴大会并担纲其中的诗歌演出。虽然这是很早前就预定好的日程安排，但在临行前他却变得犹豫不决，因为他知道妻子内蒂·哈珀(Nettie Harper)怀孕已快到临盆的时间了，而且这还是他们结婚多年后的第一个爱情结晶；最后还是因为妻子的宽慰和坚持才让他成行。可就在在圣路易斯的演出过程中，他收到了一份电报，里面的内容是：「你的妻子刚去世」。
受各国民众的喜爱。人们经常把它与另一首著名诗歌《奇异恩典》相提并论，甚至还有圣诗评论家把这首诗歌评价为“有史以来最伟大的福音歌曲”。
