耶和华的名是坚固台

〈箴言〉18:10   耶和华的名是坚固台,义人奔入便得安稳。

阅读经文:箴言18:10   耶和华的名是坚固台,义人奔入便得安稳。

在你的一生当中,当你有危险或心里困扰时,有何名字可以让你心里得安稳,问题得解决?你可能会觉得这像是天方夜谭,有哪个名字这么有效,如此有能力?简直不可能!但是耶和华神的名字却如此真实有权能。本月2日中东地区24位前穆斯林,在「中东圣经」地下事工组织26位同工协助下,前往阿拉伯海接受归信基督洗礼。

他们一行搭上巴士出发前往施洗地点,包括受洗会友24位及服事同工共50人,在受洗服事结束、祷告后,他们全都上了巴士,欲返回家庭教会进行之后的崇拜聚会、领圣餐,未料在行进之间,却突然遇到3、4辆伊斯兰军车自后方追赶上来,并开枪射击。

3 Traps to Avoid and 3 Ways to Grow Spiritually

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 17:14-20.  Let’s go!

In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, Moses foresees the day when the Israelites would want to be like other nations and have a king of their own.  While God’s original plan was that He alone would be Israel’s king, God was sensitive to Israel’s desire for a human king (see 1 Samuel 8). So in these verses Moses lays out some of the requirements that the king would be expected to meet: 3 things that the king must not do (v14-17), and 3 things that the king must do (v18-20).  As we study Deuteronomy 17:14-20, we’ll find that this passage is very much a discipleship passage, one that teaches us how to grow our relationship with God and become Christ-like disciples. 

Deuteronomy 17:14-17 (NIV)
14  When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”
15  be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.
16  The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”
17  He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

Don’t Be Quick to Throw Stones, But Be Quick to Learn and Understand

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 17:1-13.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 17:1 (NIV)
1  Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him.

On verse 1:  God alone is perfect and worthy of the perfect offering.  Praise God that when we were unable to give God the perfect sacrifice because of our sin, God sent His Son — without flaw or defect — to be the perfect sacrifice for us.  

Now that God has given us His best in Jesus Christ, let’s give Him our best as well.  Whenever you serve or offer God anything, don’t give God the scraps or the leftovers.  Give Him your best.  God made you and saved you so that you could give your best to Him.

Deuteronomy 17:2-7 (NIV)
2  If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the LORD gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God in violation of his covenant,
3  and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky,
4  and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,

分辨你的需要

〈箴言〉18:8   传舌人的言语如同美食,深入人的心腹。

阅读经文:箴言18:5-9

5瞻徇恶人的情面,偏断义人的案件,都为不善。6愚昧人张嘴启争端,开口招鞭打。7愚昧人的口自取败坏,他的嘴是他生命的网罗。8传舌人的言语如同美食,深入人的心腹。9做工懈怠的,与浪费人为弟兄。

不知道有多少人在信主后感到迷茫,既然已经得救,那么再来的人生应该怎样走呢?经常听到要顺服神的旨意,在现实生活中却很难看到什么是神的旨意。在新约里,对生活的指点也都是原则性的,什么可行,什么不可行?最近在读《箴言》时,我发现这真是一本神向我们显明祂心意的书信,要让我们明白怎样行事为人才是智慧之子,怎样的为人是愚妄和行恶之道。不管是在言语上或处理事情的风格,神都藉这书信让我们看见,神希望祂的儿女们有怎样的生活心态。

所以本书的一开始就告诉我们:“敬畏耶和华是知识的开端,愚妄人藐视智慧和训诲”,点出一个敬畏神的人和不敬畏神的人的心态之两极和结果,然后再来才舖细节,让人知道如何遵循。所以智慧和愚妄,行义和行善,不是从人的角度去判断,而是从神的角度去判断。人的判断都是自以为正,却不免随着潮流和喜恶而定,变幻不定;但是神的判断却是公平正直,永远不会改变。

人口中的言语如同深水

〈箴言〉18:4  人口中的言语如同深水,智慧的泉源好像涌流的河水。

阅读经文:箴言18:1-4

1与众寡合的,独自寻求心愿,并恼恨一切真智慧。 2 愚昧人不喜爱明哲,只喜爱显露心意。 3 恶人来,藐视随来;羞耻到,辱骂同到。 4 人口中的言语如同深水,智慧的泉源好像涌流的河水。

与众寡合的,独自寻求心愿,并恼恨一切真智慧。 Loners who care only for themselves spit on the common good. 《The Message》

在电影或小说里,经常都抬举单刀独斗的英雄或英雌,例如超人、蝙蝠侠、蜘蛛人,等等。但是在现实里,一个人根本无法成就什么事情,因为生活里大家环环相扣,要一起寻求众人的福利,而不是个人的名声。即使是总统或王室,有什么事情是一个人能解决的?

可能你会说,我可以自食其力。自食其力时要去工作,工作是公司请你,但是你只是其中的一份子,有的外销,有的筹划,有的负责广告,有的做产品设计,少了你一个,还有别人顶上来;若是没有其他同事,你一个人能做什么?你会煮菜,自己做饭吃。也需要有人种稻、种菜,挑出来卖,还有各样调味品,没有其他人的配合,就是巧妇难为无米炊。

所以这节经文告诉我们,要和众人一起合作,才能在当中并发出真智慧,合乎众人的需要。所以不要妄自尊大,也不要故步自封,学习倾听,活到老学到老。

Partying, Justice and True Worship

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 16:13-22.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 16:13-15 (NIV)
13  Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.
14  Be joyful at your Feast–you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.
15  For seven days celebrate the Feast to the LORD your God at the place the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.

On verses 13-15:  What does the Feast of Tabernacles tell you about God and His purpose for our lives?  To understand the purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles and how it relates to us today, click HERE. 

Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (NIV)
16  Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed:
17  Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.

不说意见不表示呆

〈箴言〉17:28   愚昧人若静默不言,也可算为智慧;闭口不说,也可算为聪明。

阅读经文:箴言17:26-28

26刑罚义人为不善,责打君子为不义。27寡少言语的有知识,性情温良的有聪明。28愚昧人若静默不言,也可算为智慧;闭口不说,也可算为聪明。

刑罚义人为不善,责打君子为不义。It’s wrong to penalize good behavior,  or make good citizens pay for the crimes of others.《The Message》

在这个社会,我们经常会听到不公义的事情发生。例如,有人为了去扶起一个跌倒在马路上的老妇人,却反而被控告是使老妇人跌倒者,还要赔偿。最近读到一位台湾医生写的一篇短文,有位老翁死了,他的女儿拿了一大袋的药物退还给医生。原来老翁生前每周按时领药,却从不吃药,连打开都没有,就这样,很多昂贵的药就给浪费了。因为患者必须付的钱很少,所以很多人就觉得不拿白不拿,拿了就往抽屉一丢,下次再去拿。每年有上百吨药品被扔进垃圾桶,造成极大的浪费。这样的情况造成健保的恶性循环,钱永远不够。少数不浪费的人要承担多数不负责任的人造成的损失,最后也是一起受害,因为将来药费一定上涨。

How Should Christians Today Celebrate Passover and Pentecost?

Hi GAMErs!

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

In Deuteronomy 16:1-12, Moses describes to the current generation of Israelites two of the three most important feasts in the Jewish calendar: Passover (also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread) and Pentecost (also known as the Feast of Weeks).  

Deuteronomy 16:1-8 (NIV)
1  Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night.
2  Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name.
3  Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste–so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.
4  Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning.
5  You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the LORD your God gives you
6  except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt.
7  Roast it and eat it at the place the LORD your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents.
8  For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the LORD your God and do no work.
 
On verses 1-8:  Why don’t Christians celebrate Passover today in the way Deuteronomy 16:1-8 talks about?  It’s because we now have something even greater than Passover to remember and observe:  Jesus Christ, His death and His resurrection — also known as Easter.  

You’re Blessed with the Best

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 15:12-23.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 15:12-15 (NIV)
12  If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free.
13  And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.
14  Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.
15  Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
 
On verses 12-15:  Moses tells the Israelites to be gracious to a servant who leaves them after several years of service. He tells the Israelites to “supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress.” (v14)  Applied to us today, when a person has served you well for a long time, instead of bitterly grieving their departure or indifferently letting them go, go out of your way to honour and bless that person.  Celebrate the ways you are better off because of them and bless them liberally.  Be gracious to them as God has been gracious to you.  When we send people off this way, we will be blessed as well (see v18).

以身作则

〈箴言〉17:23   恶人暗中受贿赂,为要颠倒判断。

阅读经文:箴言17:23-25

23恶人暗中受贿赂,为要颠倒判断。24明哲人眼前有智慧,愚昧人眼望地极。25愚昧子使父亲愁烦,使母亲忧苦。

第23节:恶人暗中受贿赂,为要颠倒判断

讲到贿赂,华人最有这方面的亲身体验了。从古时候的官场到现代的贿赂,莫不是在用钱办事,没有钱就寸步难行。何谓贿赂?维基百科提供了一些例子:政界人物在选举宣传时向团体提供特殊利益,以取得其支持(意即贿选);唱片公司向电台的DJ贿赂,以换取旗下歌手的歌曲能播出更多。美国著名的摇滚爱好者、DJ Alan Freed(1921-1965)便因多次受贿而变得声名狼藉,没重要的电台肯聘用他,最后因酗酒带来的疾病而死。印度在早期「许可证」经济政策时期,也有民众以贿赂的方式买到「许可证」以期可以买到需要「许可证」才可买到的商品。