Conquering the Giant in Your Life

/in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 3:1-17.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 3:1-17 (NIV)
1  Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.
2  The LORD said to me, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”
3  So the LORD our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors.
4  At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them–the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan.
5  All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages.

On verses 1-17:  In Deuteronomy 3, Moses recounts Israel’s victory over Og king of Bashan.  While Moses recounted this same victory in Numbers 21, here in Deuteronomy 3 Moses mentions an additional detail about Og that he didn’t mention in Numbers: Og was a giant.  Verse 11 says:

Read more

敬畏诫命的必得善报

/in , /by

〈箴言〉13:12    所盼望的迟延未得，令人心忧；所愿意的临到，却是生命树。

阅读经文：箴言13:12-15

12所盼望的迟延未得，令人心忧；所愿意的临到，却是生命树。13藐视训言的自取灭亡，敬畏诫命的必得善报。14智慧人的法则是生命的泉源，可以使人离开死亡的网罗。15美好的聪明使人蒙恩，奸诈人的道路崎岖难行。

第12节：所盼望的迟延未得，令人心忧；所愿意的临到，却是生命树。

《现代中文译本》：希望幻灭，心灵随之破碎；愿望实现，心里充满生机。

《当代圣经》：盼望迟迟不实现，使人忧伤；理想达到，就会为人带来快乐的人生。

《The Message》: Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.

这句经文非常写实。杨世礼医生说：“信就是所望之事的实底，是未见之事的确据”（来11:1），不少信徒常常引用这节经文，作为信心的定义。以为所有“所望的事”及“未见的事”，只要加上信心，便会变成事实，误以为这是上帝给信徒“心想事成”的应允，如此释经非常危险。其实这一节所谓“所望之事”，并非人意所希望得到的事情，而是神的话语。因为神如此说，我们便如此盼望，所以第一节的中心是神的应许，也是信心的起点。”

当我们误会神的话时，有时带来的不只是希望的幻灭，心灵的破碎，更会失去对神的信仰。但是当我们愿天父的旨意得以成全时，事情反而会有转机。因为万事互相效力，叫爱神的人得益处。神若不照我们的心愿去做，往往是因为祂的计划胜过我们的希望。

Read more

Let God’s Mercy Keep Us Humble

/in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 2:16-37.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 2:16-23 (NIV)
16  Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died,
17  the LORD said to me,
18  “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.
19  When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”
20  (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
21  They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place.
22  The LORD had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day.
23  And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.)
 
On verses 16-23:  When you read these verses it becomes clear that the Israelites were not the only ones that God had been protecting and leading the way for.  In verses 18-21 we read about how God was with the Ammonites and enabled them to drive out a strong and formidable force in the Rephaites, who were known to be much larger in size, and takeover their land.  In verse 22 we read about how God was with the descendants of Esau and enabled them to drive out the Horites and takeover their land.  Moses speaks to the Israelites this way to drive home a number of points that are good for us to learn as well:

Read more