Don’t Repeat History but Make History

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 7:30-43.  Let’s go!
 
Acts 7:30-43 (NIV)
30  “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
31  When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord’s voice:
32  ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
33  “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground.
34  I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
35  “This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush…….

On verses 30-43:  Here Stephen recounts how Moses obeyed the call of God and how God performed incredible signs and wonders through Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (v30-38).  Yet despite all this, the Israelites rejected Moses and chose to worship idols instead of the LORD (v39-43).  Stephen is connecting the way the Israelites in Moses’ time rejected Moses, God’s chosen servant, with the way Stephen’s accusers were now rejecting Jesus, God’s Son.  Stephen is pointing to a pattern of rebellion against God that he notices among his own people. He will later say that they have this tendency to reject the Holy Spirit (see verse 51).

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自言雖遭困苦守道不偏

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〈約伯記〉31:35   唯願有一位肯聽我！看哪，在這裡有我所畫的押，願全能者回答我！。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉31章

這是約伯最後為自己辯解的最後一段，為了表明他所言一切屬實，他甚至當場畫押。當台灣的選舉越來越白熱化時，因為有位副總統候選人炒軍宅的問題，讓該黨的立委也被衝擊，甚至有人用自己的姓名下了重咒：“若XXX有買任何一戶軍宅，全家死光”，以示清白。很多人為了要讓人相信自己說的是實話，便不惜立下重誓。約伯畫押也有類似的意思。古時候審判犯人，問明罪狀，就叫犯人畫押。現在約伯也自行畫押，表示所言一切屬實。他之所以要畫押，可能是要對朋友們表明心意，因為在這之前，他們列指約伯的罪狀，令約伯十分憤怒。

約伯的自省從自己的眼目和心開始。使徒約翰說：“因為凡世界上的事，就像肉體的情慾、眼目的情慾並今生的驕傲，都不是從父來的，乃是從世界來的。（約壹2:16）”雅各也說，“但各人被試探，乃是被自己的私慾牽引、誘惑的。私慾既懷了胎，就生出罪來；罪既長成，就生出死來。（雅1:15-16）”可見約伯非常清楚罪的來源和形成之道，因此他一開始就講到他與眼睛立約。其實在現今的社會上，很多人跌倒就是從眼目開始，以前是看黃色書刊，現在一上電腦，時時有裸露的美女或帥哥相片就跳入眼中，若不立刻設置讓那些都消失不再出現，難免有時會感到好奇，而走錯第一步。但是約伯禁止他的眼目，不隨便去看別的女人，所以也不起淫念。

很多人心中起淫念，往往是因為看了一些色情有關的節目或雜誌，以致想入非非。心裡不乾淨，自然追求邪僻，以致害己害人。這裡我們看到約伯也起了一個咒：“我若受迷惑，向婦人起淫念，在鄰舍的門外蹲伏，就願我的妻子給別人推磨，別人也與她同室”。約伯強調自己不與虛謊同行，也不追隨詭詐。他的腳步若偏離正路，他的心若隨著我的眼目，若有玷污沾在他手上，就願他所種的有別人吃，他田所產的被拔出來。所以起咒也是一個世人為了證明自己而有的模式。因為約伯還是相信，至高的神依然在察看他所行的道路，數點他的腳步。

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悲傷的絕境

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〈約伯記〉30:16　現在我心極其悲傷，困苦的日子將我抓住。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉30章

人生的境遇何等難料。我們每個人都可能有過和約伯一樣的感嘆，有的人覺得今不如昔，有的人想念往日的風光，有的人埋怨上帝不聽禱告。神把約伯的例子放在我們眼前，讓我們發現我們共同的敵人，那就是我們的感覺。我們的感覺讓我們對上帝的信心搖擺不定，但是上帝始終堅定不移地看守著我們，看守著約伯，不讓撒旦得寸進尺。當我們感覺最糟的時候，也就是撒旦技窮之時，牠就快失敗了。

主耶穌說過：“那殺身體不能殺靈魂的，不要怕他們；唯有能把身體和靈魂都滅在地獄裡的，正要怕他。（太10:28）”撒旦在約伯身上所施的技倆有哪幾種呢？一是拿走約伯的兒女，二是取走約伯的財產，三是惡待約伯的身體，四是讓環境來逼迫約伯。每一種技倆都是針對人的弱點，每一種技倆都會讓人抓狂，要把人逼到絕境。張文亮老師講了一個故事，他說：「如果你在一幢房子，卻找不到走出去的路，怎麼辦？」我問學生。學生答：「我把大門撞開。」，「我會從窗戶跳出去。」，「我將牆挖洞。」，「總該有個屋頂吧？」，「冷靜地想一想，怎麼進來，就能怎麼出去。」，「打電話出去，請鎖匠來協助。」我微笑的搖搖頭，學生問道：「那麼老師呢？」我說：「我祈求上帝，給我光。」

絕境的意思就是人找不到出路，沒有解決的方法，無法可想了，那叫絕境。人一旦陷入絕境，又看不到上帝的援手時，就會發出像約伯一樣痛苦而悲傷的言語。約伯講到社會上一些最貧窮的愚妄人，竟然現在也敢來向他的臉吐唾沫，推他的腳，甚至想辦法攻擊他，欺負他，讓他不甚悲傷，覺得自己的情況已經落到比那些人還不如的地位。

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Study God’s Word and Know It Well

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 7:17-29.  Let’s go!
 
Acts 7:17-29 (NIV)
17  “As the time drew near for God to fulfill his promise to Abraham, the number of our people in Egypt greatly increased.
18  Then another king, who knew nothing about Joseph, became ruler of Egypt.
19  He dealt treacherously with our people and oppressed our forefathers by forcing them to throw out their newborn babies so that they would die.
20  “At that time Moses was born, and he was no ordinary child. For three months he was cared for in his father’s house.
21  When he was placed outside, Pharaoh’s daughter took him and brought him up as her own son.
22  Moses was educated in all the wisdom of the Egyptians and was powerful in speech and action.
23  “When Moses was forty years old, he decided to visit his fellow Israelites.
24  He saw one of them being mistreated by an Egyptian, so he went to his defense and avenged him by killing the Egyptian.
25  Moses thought that his own people would realize that God was using him to rescue them, but they did not.
26  The next day Moses came upon two Israelites who were fighting. He tried to reconcile them by saying, ‘Men, you are brothers; why do you want to hurt each other?’
27  “But the man who was mistreating the other pushed Moses aside and said, ‘Who made you ruler and judge over us?
28  Do you want to kill me as you killed the Egyptian yesterday?’
29  When Moses heard this, he fled to Midian, where he settled as a foreigner and had two sons.
 
On verses 17-29:  Continuing his dramatic recounting of Israel’s history, Stephen talks about the life of Moses before Moses’ burning bush experience, essentially summarizing Exodus 1-2.

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A Key to Connecting With Your Audience

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 7:1-16.  Let’s go!
 
Acts 7:1-16 (NIV)
1  Then the high priest asked him, “Are these charges true?”
2  To this he replied: “Brothers and fathers, listen to me! The God of glory appeared to our father Abraham while he was still in Mesopotamia, before he lived in Haran.
3  ‘Leave your country and your people,’ God said, ‘and go to the land I will show you.’
4  “So he left the land of the Chaldeans and settled in Haran. After the death of his father, God sent him to this land where you are now living.
5  He gave him no inheritance here, not even a foot of ground. But God promised him that he and his descendants after him would possess the land, even though at that time Abraham had no child.
6  God spoke to him in this way: ‘Your descendants will be strangers in a country not their own, and they will be enslaved and mistreated four hundred years…….

On verses 1-16: Why is Stephen giving a speech to the Sanhedrin, Israel’s ruling council of elders, about the history of Israel? Remember that the Sanhedrin had accused Stephen of making false, blasphemous statements about Moses, about God (6:11), about the temple (6:13) and about the law of Moses (6:13).  They accused Stephen of trying to subvert Judaism and advocate for a new religion, saying that Jesus would change the customs which the Jews had received from Moses (Acts 6:14).

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約伯述昔日佳景

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〈約伯記〉29:3   那時祂的燈照在我頭上，我藉祂的光行過黑暗。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉29章

我們當中有很多人可能都有約伯的經驗，回憶從前，不甚稀噓。最近有個朋友回鄉探親，回來後講起回鄉尋找五十年前的小吃，那種喜樂和回味令人難以忘懷。當然，從前的小吃或零嘴現在再吃，可能因為感覺變了，味道也不再一樣。但是尋根是人人都有的衝動，回憶也使人的心裡感到充實，尤其是美好的回憶，使我們感到人生沒有白虛度。約伯在自嘆自艾中，回想到他曾經也有過一段非常美好的日子。

約伯以前過怎樣的好日子呢？他把從前人生的美好分為四部份: 神的保守和祝福，神的帶領和同行。約伯享受天倫之樂，以及豐盛的物質。那時約伯正值壯年，事事如意，樣樣稱心。奶多可洗腳，磐石為他出油成河，不管是吃的用的，他都不需愁煩。在他人眼中的磐石可能毫無用處，但是在約伯的手中，卻成了出油的源頭。這種事有人稱之為運氣，別人看不見的，一到他手裡石頭就變錢了。也因為有錢，相對的也受到人的尊重。現代人要競選政治的職位，沒有錢是萬萬不能。

約伯可能因著財富，成為城裡有勢之人，也就是有了官位。以前的城門是審判人民，或為百姓排憂解恨的地方。所以約伯出到城門，在街上設立座位，表示他做了城裡的領袖。因此少年人看到他要迴避，老年人也起身站立，因為他是官。王子看到他就停止說話，首領默默無聲，表示非常的尊敬。那時約伯為困苦人申冤，幫助孤兒寡婦，因此聽見的人都稱他為有福，並且稱讚他的所作所為。

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敬畏主就是智慧

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〈約伯記〉28:28  敬畏主就是智慧，遠離惡便是聰明。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉28章

約伯對神和大自然的認識，在本章中把我們的眼界提升到一個境界，跳脫了無止休的辯論，進入神那遼闊的殿堂。有人說，本章是世界自然史中最古老最優美的篇章之一，也是文學界裡最偉大的詩篇之一。約伯從他對大自然的觀察和理解去認識到一件事，不管金銀寶石何等稀罕難得，也不能買到真正的智慧，唯有敬畏神才能得到真智慧。

現代人都以為科學猛進，我們比古人聰明得多，沒想到在約伯那麼早的年代，就已經掌握了煉礦冶金的方法。根據《舊約聖經背景注釋》，埃及早在第一王朝時代（約主前3000年）已經有採礦的記載。約伯記在此描述的冶金方法，埃及新王國時代（約主前1550～1050年）很多古墓壁畫中都能找到。本段所形容的地下採礦法稱為豎井採礦法〔pitting〕，近東在主前2000年左右開始使用。這種採礦法是在不同距離挖掘垂直的礦井，以求開採平向的礦層。此外，他們亦在山側或懸崖開鑿橫向的礦坑。

狄奧都魯斯也描述了古代的採礦工藝：沿著礦脈把礦井打入山中。用火把礦石燒得易碎，然後由人點著燈把礦石挖出來砸成粉，用水沖，最後得到黃金。“銀子有礦，煉金有方，鐵從地裡挖出，銅從石中熔化”，神把金銀銅鐵都藏在無人居住之處，在山的最深之處，那裡十分黑暗，卻沒料到竟然也有人可以認出那些看起來不足為道的平凡石頭，那些幽暗陰翳的石頭，裡面竟然含有寶藏。而獲取每一種礦的方法都不一樣。採礦工作都在無人居住、與人遠離之地，運送困難，“懸在空中搖來搖去”似乎是說到用纜線運送一桶桶採到的礦之方式。

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Wisdom to Face Challenges and Opposition

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 6:1-15.  Let’s go! 

Acts 6:1 (NIV)
1  In those days when the number of disciples was increasing, the Grecian Jews among them complained against the Hebraic Jews because their widows were being overlooked in the daily distribution of food.
 
On verse 1:  In the Old Testament God shows His heart to care for orphans and widows (see for example Exodus 22:22; Deuteronomy 10:18; and Psalm 146:9).  This concern for orphans and widows is also found in the New Testament in verses like James 1:27, 1 Timothy 5, and here in Acts 6 where the growing Christian community has a ministry to care for widows in Jerusalem. 
 
Who were the “Grecian Jews” and the “Hebraic Jews” and why does it matter?  In Jerusalem there were many Jews who had moved into Jerusalem from “Grecian” or Hellenistic regions (see Acts 1:5), that is, from countries where the dominant culture was Greek.  These “Grecian Jews” grew up being influenced as much by Greek culture as their Jewish heritage and had moved to Jerusalem where they now were living amongst “Hebraic Jews” who grew up in Jerusalem speaking Hebrew all their lives.   That would be similar to me, a Chinese boy who grew up in Canada speaking English, loving hockey and listening to the Beatles, moving to China to live amongst Chinese people who had spent all their lives speaking Mandarin and living in a more traditionally Chinese culture. 

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我持定我的義

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〈約伯記〉27:6我持定我的義，必不放鬆；在世的日子，我心必不責備我。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉27章

約伯說“神奪去我的理”，好像在《聖經》裡也曾經有人說過類似的話，你記得嗎？那個人說：“我發怒以至於死，都合乎理”。看到神赦免尼尼微城的人，先知約拿氣到口不擇言。他覺得他發怒以至於死，都合乎理，理是在他約拿那邊的，神太無理。約伯也說神奪去了他的理，他本來有理，但是神使他變得無理，所以是神無理。但是誰有理，誰無理，我們這些事後諸葛亮都看得很清楚。

美國敬虔的足球四分衛Tim Tebow（科比）曾被謠傳和環球小姐OliviaCulpo（奧莉薇亞）分手，理由是因為他不願意在婚前發生性關係。有人拿這消息炒作，說他根本就不應該和那類女性交往，並以此大作文章警戒信徒。但是科比的發言人說，那些都是八卦新聞的炒作，只因為奧莉薇亞有一次去科比的教會，就被影射成他們兩人在交往，實際上他們根本連約會都未曾有過。對科比而言，他身處一個壓力很大的環境裡，在他身邊幾乎所有的人都對性都很隨便，只有他一支獨秀，排除所有的異見，單單以《聖經》的教導為至寶。

約伯在他的朋友攻擊之下，雖然覺得神奪走了他的理，以致於朋友和妻子都覺得他沒理。但是他依然決定：“我的嘴決不說非義之言，我的舌也不說詭詐之語”。人在被激怒的情況下最容易失去理智，說出讓自己後悔的話，但是約伯拒絕讓憤怒或悲傷控制他的舌頭。在這裡，我們可以稍微明白，為何摩西在書卷的開頭就形容約是個義人，完全，正直，且敬畏神，遠離惡事。雅各說：“若有人在話語上沒有過失，他就是完全人，也能勒住自己的全身”（各3:2）。約伯在苦難之中，不斷地被朋友指責，但是他仍然立志不說非義之言，不說詭詐之語，這是何等值得我們學習。

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God’s Unstoppable Church

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 5:33-42.  Let’s go! 

Acts 5:33-40 (NIV)
33  When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
34  But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.
35  Then he addressed them: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.
36  Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
37  After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
38  Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.
39  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40  His speech persuaded them.  They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
 
On verses 33-40:   The Sanhedrin, which is the assembly of Israel’s elders (Acts 5:21), wants to put the apostles to death for refusing to obey the Sanhedrin’s orders not to preach about Jesus (v33).  But Gamaliel, who is both a Pharisee and a teacher of the law and who is highly respected by the people, uses his considerable influence to move the Sanhedrin in another direction.  Ordering the apostles to wait outside, Gamaliel speaks to the Sanhedrin and asks them to carefully consider their next step (v35).   He cites two previous movements, one led by Theudas who apparently claimed to be a Messiah-like figure (v36) and another led by Judas who revolted against the Roman government census (v37).  These two movements came and went and ultimately amounted to nothing. 

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