01- 創世記

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Praise God BEFORE the Miracle Happens

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 16:25-40.  Let’s go!

Acts 16:25-36 (NIV)
25  About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the other prisoners were listening to them.
26  Suddenly there was such a violent earthquake that the foundations of the prison were shaken. At once all the prison doors flew open, and everybody’s chains came loose.
27  The jailer woke up, and when he saw the prison doors open, he drew his sword and was about to kill himself because he thought the prisoners had escaped.
28  But Paul shouted, “Don’t harm yourself! We are all here!”
29  The jailer called for lights, rushed in and fell trembling before Paul and Silas.
30  He then brought them out and asked, “Sirs, what must I do to be saved?”
31  They replied, “Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved–you and your household.”
32  Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house.
33  At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized.
34  The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God–he and his whole family.
35  When it was daylight, the magistrates sent their officers to the jailer with the order: “Release those men.”
36  The jailer told Paul, “The magistrates have ordered that you and Silas be released. Now you can leave. Go in peace.”

On verses 25-36:  Here we see why God allowed Paul and Silas to be flogged and imprisoned. It wasn’t because God was cruel, distant or indifferent. Rather God allowed this painful situation so that Paul, Silas and everyone in the prison with them could witness God’s incredible saving power. Not only did God save his servants from prison, but even more God used the situation so that a jailer and his family could receive Jesus and be saved from hell.  (By the way, notice also that the jailer and his family got baptized immediately after they placed their faith in Jesus. They didn’t wait or delay to obey Jesus’ command to get baptized. Have you gotten baptized in obedience to God’s command?)

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智慧人必承受尊榮

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〈箴言〉3:35  智慧人必承受尊榮，愚昧人高升也成為羞辱。

閱讀經文：〈箴言〉3:30-35

30人未曾加害於你，不可無故與他相爭。31不可嫉妒強暴的人，也不可選擇他所行的路。32因為乖僻人為耶和華所憎惡，正直人為他所親密。33耶和華咒詛惡人的家庭，賜福於義人的居所。34他譏誚那好譏誚的人，賜恩給謙卑的人。35智慧人必承受尊榮，愚昧人高升也成為羞辱。

所羅門王說：“人未曾加害於你，不可無故與他相爭”。畢德生牧師在The Message裡的譯文是：Don’t walk around with a chip on your shoulder,  always spoiling for a fight.　意思是不要老是臉長長的，好像有人對不起你，跟你過不去，或是欠了你好多錢，動不動就生氣的意思。我們雖然不可能見人就笑，但是也不要常常給人看臉色。學習和顏悅色的方法，最好是每天早上洗臉時，對著鏡中人說：“耶穌愛你，我也愛你”。連說三次，你的表情就會鬆弛下來，不再那麼緊張，甚至笑得出來了。說話的聲音調低一點，非必要時，不要大聲叫。這樣對你的血壓有好處，也比較不會喉嚨痛。可以在說話前先深呼吸再講，慢慢就會習慣了。

“不可嫉妒強暴的人，也不可選擇他所行的路” 。Don’t try to be like those who shoulder their way through life.   Why be a bully? 可能很多人說他不會做這樣的傻事，強暴的人值得嫉妒嗎？實際上，對於那些比我們強，不斷被老師欣賞或升職的同事，經常有人在背後說他們的壞話，很少人他們是憑本事，反而更多人會說那些人會旁門走道，以致得到師長或上司的青睞。畢德生牧師認為那是一種霸凌的現象，藉著自己的力氣或強勢或財富，奪走原不屬於他的。這樣的人，雖然大家口頭上詆譭，但也有人會非常羨慕，進而嫉妒，以致學習。以為世間就是這樣，不横行霸道，就得不到想要的。所以有人說，要先學做人，才能把事情做得好。因為不懂怎樣做人，只想藉著一些方法或勢力拿到自己所要的，卻往往會失去更多。

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與人相處的智慧

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〈箴言〉3:27   你手若有行善的力量，不可推辭，就當向那應得的人施行。

閱讀經文：〈箴言〉3:27-29

27你手若有行善的力量，不可推辭，就當向那應得的人施行。28你那裡若有現成的，不可對鄰舍說：「去吧，明天再來，我必給你。」29你的鄰舍既在你附近安居，你不可設計害他。

「你手若有行善的力量，不可推辭，就當向那應得的人施行」（27節）。當我們未與耶穌建立關係時，罪性使我們以自我中心，不懂施予。唯有基督十字架的原則雕塑我們，教我們倒空，懂得捨己和施予。與人建立關係最重要的是懂得幫助人。在不義的管家的比喻裡（路16：1－13），雖然那管家用了不正確的方法去幫助人，說到底他是想藉著幫助人結交朋友的。聖經也常教導我們肯施予是基督徒的記號，愛便是立志將好處給別人，若果人人有愛而又肯施予，社會便得享太平。

樂善好施也是成熟品格的記號。「你手若有行善的力量」提醒我們施予時要量力而為。若自己沒有錢，卻想辦法借錢予人替人還債；或長時間廢寢忘餐地幫朋友，以致疏忽家人或自己的需要，均不是符合聖經原則。我們很多時是「好心做壞事」，我們應求天父賜智慧，去分辨哪些人應該幫忙，哪些人不值得幫忙的便不要幫。好像對於那嗜賭、吸毒的人，我們便不應借錢給他們，因為這樣幫他等於害他。

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Have a Healthy Approach to God and Money

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Hi GAMErs! 

Today’s passage is Acts 16:13-24.  Let’s go!

Acts 16:13-24 (NIV)
13  On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
14  One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
15  When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
16  Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling……

On verses 13-24:  Paul, Silas and their team are now in the city of Philippi.  Here Luke describes two incidents where, while on the way to pray, Paul, Silas and their team have memorable encounters with different people.  The two encounters Luke describes in these verses show us two very different approaches to God and money.

First they meet Lydia, a new convert to Christianity. Lydia was probably a wealthy businesswoman. The fact that she specialized in selling purple cloth suggests that her clients may have been members of royalty. When Lydia receives Jesus Christ into her life, her first inclination is to use the resources she has to serve the church and its leaders.  She opens up her home to them (v15) as well as to other Christians (see v40).

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得智慧之寶貴

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〈箴言〉3: 13   得智慧，得聰明的，這人便為有福！

閱讀經文：〈箴言〉3: 13-26 

13得智慧，得聰明的，這人便為有福！14因為得智慧勝過得銀子，其利益強如精金；15比珍珠寶貴，你一切所喜愛的都不足與比較。16她右手有長壽，左手有富貴。17她的道是安樂，她的路全是平安。18她與持守她的做生命樹，持定她的俱各有福。19耶和華以智慧立地，以聰明定天，20以知識使深淵裂開，使天空滴下甘露。

21我兒，要謹守真智慧和謀略，不可使他離開你的眼目。22這樣，他必做你的生命，頸項的美飾。23你就坦然行路，不致碰腳。24你躺下，必不懼怕；你躺臥，睡得香甜。25忽然來的驚恐，不要害怕；惡人遭毀滅，也不要恐懼。26因為耶和華是你所倚靠的，他必保守你的腳不陷入網羅。

通常人所想的智慧，大多是解決問題的能力；但是所羅門王所說的智慧，是一種超越。人所想要的智慧，是怎樣勝過他人的謀略，應對的能力，解決突發事情的急智，幫助自己脫困的聰明。這些都是人間的小聰明，真正的智慧又是如何呢？

一想到智慧，你會不會想到諸葛亮孔明？他能洞察先機，觀人入微，詳知天文地理，以致能戰無不勝、攻無不克，但是他的左手沒有長壽，右手也沒有富貴，他的道沒有安樂，他的路也沒有平安。只落得杜甫兩句：“出師未捷身先死， 長使英雄淚滿襟”，概括一生。孔明的智慧人人稱羡，但是他的結局使人感嘆不已。什麼才是真正的智慧？

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When God Interrupts Your Plans

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 16:1-12.  Let’s go!

Acts 16:1-3 (NIV)
1  He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.
2  The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
3  Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

On verses 1-3: Lystra was the city where Paul experienced some of the worst persecution of his life.  He was stoned and almost killed in Lystra (Acts 14:19).  Yet Paul never gave up on Lystra and continued to reach and care for the believers there.  Eventually in Lystra Paul would meet Timothy, who would become one of his dearest sons in the faith and one of his most important teammates.  It goes to show that when you don’t give up on the place God has called you to, great things will happen eventually.  You just need to last long enough to see it.

Acts 16:4-12 (NIV)
4  As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.
5  So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
6  Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
7  When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
8  So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

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The Purpose of Prophecy

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 15:30-41.  Let’s go!

Acts 15:30-32 (NIV)
30  The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.
31  The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
32  Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

On verses 30-32:  Sent by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, Judas and Silas join Paul and Barnabas on their way back to the church in Antioch.  There, the prophetically gifted Judas and Silas “said much to encourage and strengthen” the Christians in Antioch with their words.

What can we learn from this?  The purpose of prophecy in the church is always to encourage and strengthen the people in the church.  As Paul explains:

–        “But everyone who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3)
–        “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” (1 Corinthians 14:26)

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耶和華所愛的

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〈箴言〉3:11   我兒，你不可輕看耶和華的管教，也不可厭煩祂的責備。

閱讀經文：〈箴言〉3:9-12

9 你要以財物和一切初熟的土產尊榮耶和華， 10 這樣，你的倉房必充滿有餘，你的酒榨有新酒盈溢。 11 我兒，你不可輕看耶和華的管教，也不可厭煩祂的責備。 12 因為耶和華所愛的，祂必責備，正如父親責備所喜愛的兒子。

〈箴言〉第三章是許多人的最愛，尤其是第5-6節：“你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明， 在你一切所行的事上都要認定祂，祂 必指引你的路。”人都希知道明天將如何，因此希望得到指引。認識神的人拚命禱告，不認識神的就去算命、求籤。這也是許多人背得混瓜爛熟的經文。因為我們常常倚靠自己的聰明去面對世界和人生，經常失敗，所以要背這兩節經文來提醒自己。但是所羅門王越說越精采。

曾經有一位自認非常屬靈的弟兄說：“教會就是不應該收奉獻，那是沒有信心的表現。牧者不應該叫會眾奉獻！”他在查經小組裡也這樣對弟兄姐妹說，聽來似乎很有道理，神已經擁有萬有，何必要我們的一點小小奉獻呢？只要祂把天上的窗戶拉開一個小縫縫，我們就吃喝不完了，沒有信心的人才會叫人收奉獻！這位弟兄在身體上曾經得到神的特別醫治，事業家庭也都十分蒙福。因此他認為不用奉獻，因為神什麼都有，不用我們多事！

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God’s Favourite Way to Deliver a Message

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage, Acts 15:13-29, is not the easiest passage in Acts to interpret, but there are some powerful lessons for those willing to dig deeper.  Let’s go!

Acts 15:13-18 (NIV)
13  When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me.
14  Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.
15  The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16  “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
17  that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’
18  that have been known for ages.

On verses 13-18:  James, the brother of Jesus and a leader in the church in Jerusalem, continues the discussion about whether Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians should be subject to the law of Moses including Jewish requirements like circumcision.  James acknowledges what Peter had just shared in verses 7 to 11, how Peter had personally seen God choosing Gentile Christians and giving them His Holy Spirit as much as He did Jewish Christians.  While Peter referred to his own personal experience to support the idea that God had chosen believers from among the Gentiles as well, James refers to Scripture, quoting Amos 9:11-12 and showing that there is Scriptural support for the same idea that God had chosen believers from among the Gentiles.

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