至好朋友是耶稣

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〈箴言〉18:24    滥交朋友的自取败坏，但有一朋友比弟兄更亲密。。

阅读经文：箴言18:22-24

22得着贤妻的，是得着好处，也是蒙了耶和华的恩惠。23贫穷人说哀求的话，富足人用威吓的话回答。24滥交朋友的自取败坏，但有一朋友比弟兄更亲密。

第22节：得着贤妻的，是得着好处，也是蒙了耶和华的恩惠。Find a good spouse, you find a good life— and even more: the favor of God! 《The Message》

箴言19章 14说 :“房屋钱财是祖宗所遗留的，唯有贤惠的妻是耶和华所赐的。”这两节经文都强调得着贤妻的，是蒙了耶和华的恩惠。换句话说，想娶个好太太，必须向神祈求，而不是靠自己的眼光去选择。因为起初是神把夏娃带到亚当面前，所以当人寻求妻子时，也要如此祈求，求神把对象带到他面前。

“智慧妇人，建立家室；愚妄妇人，亲手拆毁” （箴14:1）。选妻子不是挑肥捡瘦，而是要看是不是神所配合的。因为只有神才知道我们真正的需要。人的选择往往以外表为主观，很难从短暂的相处去真正认识一个人，加上自己也不是完全人，所以宁可求神替你选。因为在圣经里是由智慧的女人去建立家室，所以若选了一个缺乏智慧的女人做妻子，会建立起怎样的家室就很难讲了。

这智慧不是指世上的学问或才华，因为“敬畏耶和华是智慧的开端”，所以选择一个敬畏神的女人，而不是一个风情万种的女人，你就蒙了耶和华的恩惠了。

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Fear Can Be Contagious, But So Can Courage

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 20:1-20.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 20:1-4 (NIV)
1  When you go to war against your enemies and see horses and chariots and an army greater than yours, do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you.
2  When you are about to go into battle, the priest shall come forward and address the army.
3  He shall say: “Hear, O Israel, today you are going into battle against your enemies. Do not be fainthearted or afraid; do not be terrified or give way to panic before them.
4  For the LORD your God is the one who goes with you to fight for you against your enemies to give you victory.”

On verses 1-4:  In Deuteronomy 20:1-9, Moses prepares the Israelites for war against their enemies. His big message to the Israelite army: do not be afraid, for God is with you (v1-4).

Praise God that, similarly, we have every reason to live life with courage. That’s because God is with us. As Moses says, “do not be afraid of them, because the LORD your God, who brought you up out of Egypt, will be with you” (v1).

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Respect People’s Boundaries

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 19:11-21.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 19:11-21 (NIV)
11  But if a man hates his neighbor and lies in wait for him, assaults and kills him, and then flees to one of these cities,
12  the elders of his town shall send for him, bring him back from the city, and hand him over to the avenger of blood to die.
13  Show him no pity. You must purge from Israel the guilt of shedding innocent blood, so that it may go well with you.
14  Do not move your neighbor’s boundary stone set up by your predecessors in the inheritance you receive in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
15  One witness is not enough to convict a man accused of any crime or offense he may have committed. A matter must be established by the testimony of two or three witnesses.
16  If a malicious witness takes the stand to accuse a man of a crime,
17  the two men involved in the dispute must stand in the presence of the LORD before the priests and the judges who are in office at the time.

On verses 11-21:  Deuteronomy 19:11-13 says that if a person has stood trial and been convicted of murder, that person cannot continue to hide in the city of refuge.  Rather, the convicted murderer must be handed over to the avenger of blood to die (v12).

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生死在舌头的权下

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〈箴言〉18:21 生死在舌头的权下，喜爱它的必吃它所结的果子。

阅读经文：箴言18:19-21

19弟兄结怨，劝他和好比取坚固城还难，这样的争竞如同坚寨的门闩。 20人口中所结的果子必充满肚腹，他嘴所出的必使他饱足。 21生死在舌头的权下，喜爱它的必吃它所结的果子。

第19节：弟兄结怨，劝他和好比取坚固城还难，这样的争竞如同坚寨的门闩。Do a favor and win a friend forever; nothing can untie that bond. 《The Message》

你可能已经发现中译和英译有点不一样，中译的比较负面，英译的比较正面。中译的讲到兄弟结怨，要和好几乎不可能；《The Message》给了我们一个比较有鼓励性的翻译，看在弟兄的份上帮他一个忙，可以赢得一份长远的友谊，没有什么事能破坏这份情谊。

不管从正面或负面去理解，我们都能体会到要建立一份深厚的情谊，就必须付出代价；一旦有了误会或嫌隙，就很难恢复从前推心置腹的情况了。保罗说，爱是不做害羞的事。这句话我有很深的感受。因为有一两次我感觉到朋友忽然之间和我生疏了。过了一段时期，才间接得知，原来对方做了一些不好的事，以为我知道，所以就不敢来找我了。

背后说闲话或是做对不起人的事，反而会怕别人对自己不利，即使对方毫无所觉，自己却先害怕了，所以也无法再做朋友了。感谢神，我有许多可敬爱的朋友，因为大家都敬畏神，所以彼此信任，互相帮助。这是非常难得的福份。所以想要拥有长远相交的朋友，自己就要先敬畏神，做一个忠实的朋友。

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掣签能止息争竞

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〈箴言〉18:18 掣签能止息争竞，也能解散强盛的人。

阅读经文：箴言18:16-18

16 人的礼物为他开路，引他到高位的人面前。 17 先诉情由的似乎有理，但邻舍来到，就察出实情。18 掣签能止息争竞，也能解散强盛的人。

第16节：人的礼物为他开路，引他到高位的人面前。A gift gets attention; it buys the attention of eminent people. 《The Message》

有解经家说，这节经文的Gift 礼物在原文其实是恩赐或技能的意思。假如从一般的礼物去理解，在高位的人会因为怎样的礼物去注意到送礼物的人？除非是很特别的礼物，所以要用礼物开路。但是因为有恩赐或技能而引起高位的人注意，这种事情就比较常见了。

没有手和脚的布道家力克‧胡哲昨天提到，在他这次的布道旅程中，斯洛文尼亚共和国Slovenia的总统Borut Pahor亲自来把他介绍给会众。为何一个总统会亲自来为这个布道家捧场呢？实在是因为力克的故事感动了成千上万的人，也鼓励了许多绝望的人。因着耶稣基督，一个残障的人竟然成了神国大使，使许多高位的人都愿意接见他，并且支持他的事工。

耶和华神是高高在上的造物者，却以自己的独生子为礼物，送给世上的人。为了让世人认识祂，愿意“接见”祂！至高的神竟如此谦卑在世人面前，而世人竟敢趾高气扬地拒绝！可见人的骄傲、自大和无知，到了一个怎样的地步。神却不和人计较，依然在寻找，要把祂所爱的带回家中。有什么礼物能为我们开路，引我们到至高的神面前呢？

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Safe in Jesus

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 19:1-10.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 19:1-10 (NIV)
1  When the LORD your God has destroyed the nations whose land he is giving you, and when you have driven them out and settled in their towns and houses,
2  then set aside for yourselves three cities centrally located in the land the LORD your God is giving you to possess.
3  Build roads to them and divide into three parts the land the LORD your God is giving you as an inheritance, so that anyone who kills a man may flee there.
4  This is the rule concerning the man who kills another and flees there to save his life–one who kills his neighbor unintentionally, without malice aforethought.
5  For instance, a man may go into the forest with his neighbor to cut wood, and as he swings his ax to fell a tree, the head may fly off and hit his neighbor and kill him. That man may flee to one of these cities and save his life.
6  Otherwise, the avenger of blood might pursue him in a rage, overtake him if the distance is too great, and kill him even though he is not deserving of death, since he did it to his neighbor without malice aforethought.

On verses 1-10:  Here Moses tells the Israelites that when God leads them into the land He has promised them, they are to set aside three cities as “cities of refuge”.  What was a city of refuge?  It was a place where an individual who had killed someone by accident could flee for safety until they were given a fair trial.  By staying in the city of refuge, that individual could not be killed by the “avenger of blood” (v16), that is, the person who was assigned the task of executing anyone who was guilty of murder.

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尊重自己和别人

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〈箴言〉18:14 人有疾病心能忍耐，心灵忧伤，谁能承当呢？

阅读经文：箴言18:13-15

13未曾听完先回答的，便是他的愚昧和羞辱。 14人有疾病心能忍耐，心灵忧伤，谁能承当呢？15聪明人的心得知识，智慧人的耳求知识。

第13节：未曾听完先回答的，便是他的愚昧和羞辱。 Answering before listening is both stupid and rude. 《The Message》

看完这节经文，知道自己有这个坏习惯的人，请举手。虽然我看不见你，但是圣灵看得见。我也有这样的坏习惯，虽然知道这是一种礼貌，但是讨论到热烈时，往往就抢著说话了。现在外子和我都会彼此提醒，让别人把话说完，不要抢话头。当然，你可能看不见我们在桌子底下踢来踢去。

学习等待，让人家把话说完，不仅是一种礼貌，也是一种风度，更是一种体贴的心态。但是最常听到抢话的：“我知道，我知道，我也曾经这样……”或是“我知道，我知道，你是不是这样……”。要学习等待，让人把话说完，这是《圣经》教导我们的，言语上的彼此尊重，要有礼貌，要有风度。因为，我们是神的儿女，是大君王家的公主和王子。所以，尊重别人，就是尊重自己。

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A Healthy Approach to Prophecy

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 18:14-22.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 18:14-22 (NIV)
14  The nations you will dispossess listen to those who practice sorcery or divination. But as for you, the LORD your God has not permitted you to do so.
15  The LORD your God will raise up for you a prophet like me from among your own brothers. You must listen to him.
16  For this is what you asked of the LORD your God at Horeb on the day of the assembly when you said, “Let us not hear the voice of the LORD our God nor see this great fire anymore, or we will die.”
17  The LORD said to me: “What they say is good.
18  I will raise up for them a prophet like you from among their brothers; I will put my words in his mouth, and he will tell them everything I command him.
19  If anyone does not listen to my words that the prophet speaks in my name, I myself will call him to account.
20  But a prophet who presumes to speak in my name anything I have not commanded him to say, or a prophet who speaks in the name of other gods, must be put to death.”
21  You may say to yourselves, “How can we know when a message has not been spoken by the LORD?”
22  If what a prophet proclaims in the name of the LORD does not take place or come true, that is a message the LORD has not spoken. That prophet has spoken presumptuously. Do not be afraid of him.
 
On verses 14-22:  In Deuteronomy 18:14-22, Moses tells the Israelites that they don’t need to resort to things like divination and fortune telling to discern the will of God.  That’s because God has given His people something greater that divination and fortune telling: He has given His people prophets and the gift of prophecy (v14-15).  

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Loving Your Church Staff Well

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 18:1-13.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 18:1-8 (NIV)
1  The priests, who are Levites–indeed the whole tribe of Levi–are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the LORD by fire, for that is their inheritance.
2  They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them.
3  This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts.
4  You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,
5  for the LORD your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the LORD’s name always.
6  If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose,
7  he may minister in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD.
8  He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.
 
On verses 1-8:  In Deuteronomy 18:1-8, Moses tells the Israelites to care for the Levites – that is, their priestly leaders and those who dedicated their careers to serving in the house of God.  He tells them to remember that their priestly leaders have a unique responsibility in life (v1), that they don’t get to enjoy all the privileges that the other Israelites enjoy (v2), that they are dependent on the offerings of the people for their livelihood (v3), that God has chosen them to minister to Him in a way that requires all of their working hours (v5) and thus the other Israelites are to treat them well (v6-8). 

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尊荣以前，必有谦卑

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〈箴言〉18:12  败坏之先，人心骄傲；尊荣以前，必有谦卑。

阅读经文：箴言18:11-12

11 富足人的财物是他的坚城，在他心想，犹如高墙。 12 败坏之先，人心骄傲；尊荣以前，必有谦卑。

第11节：富足人的财物是他的坚城，在他心想，犹如高墙。The rich think their wealth protects them;  they imagine themselves safe behind it. 《The Message》

在温哥华西区有个地区，据说都是大官或很有钱的人居住的，那里的房子都有很厚的围墙，很深的院子。我有个朋友曾在那地区买了一栋房子，她邀请我们去参观。从门口到内室，都装了闭路电视，每一个去的人都难免要“上镜头”。朋友从她的卧室里就可以看到屋内外的每个地方。这句经文使我联想到朋友的住家，富人的财物可以为他自己筑起坚城和高墙，却也让人感受到众多财富下的不安和惊惶。

当然，这些豪宅不算什么，在印尼有钱的人不仅有城有墙，还雇了军人占岗。表面看很威风，实际上很害怕。财富可以帮人解决不少问题，尤其在可以行贿的地方。所以有人说，钱不是万能，但没有钱就万万不能。

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