What Life Without God Looks Like

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 28:30-42.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 28:30-42 (NIV)
30  You will be pledged to be married to a woman, but another will take her and ravish her. You will build a house, but you will not live in it. You will plant a vineyard, but you will not even begin to enjoy its fruit.
31  Your ox will be slaughtered before your eyes, but you will eat none of it. Your donkey will be forcibly taken from you and will not be returned. Your sheep will be given to your enemies, and no one will rescue them.
32  Your sons and daughters will be given to another nation, and you will wear out your eyes watching for them day after day, powerless to lift a hand.
33  A people that you do not know will eat what your land and labor produce, and you will have nothing but cruel oppression all your days.
34  The sights you see will drive you mad.

On verses 30-42:  In Deuteronomy 28:30-42, Moses continues to describe the curses and problems the Israelites would encounter if they did not obey all of God’s commands.  When you read this passage, it seems unbelievable that any person could experience that many problems.  But Deuteronomy 28:30-42 is a picture of the final, ultimate destiny of a person who lives without Christ:

人的腳步為耶和華所定

箴言 20:24  人的腳步為耶和華所定,人豈能明白自己的路呢?

閱讀經文:箴言20:23-26

23兩樣的法碼為耶和華所憎惡,詭詐的天平也為不善。24人的腳步為耶和華所定,人豈能明白自己的路呢?25人冒失說「這是聖物」,許願之後才查問,就是自陷網羅。26智慧的王簸散惡人,用碌碡滾軋他們。

第23節:兩樣的法碼為耶和華所憎惡,詭詐的天平也為不善。God hates cheating in the marketplace; rigged scales are an outrage.《The Message》

耶和華神是一個有個性的神,藉著祂的喜好和憎惡讓信徒明白,我們所相信的神是一個怎樣的神。我們要認識神,才知道怎樣與祂同行,才知道怎樣禱告,怎樣祈求。

耶和華神是一個憎惡欺騙和不公平的神,這表示祂是一個正直而公義的神。所以使用兩樣的法碼或詭詐的天平之人,不要想得到耶和華所賜的福。

No Curse Can Touch You Because of Jesus

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 28:15-29.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 28:15-29 (NIV)
15  However, if you do not obey the LORD your God and do not carefully follow all his commands and decrees I am giving you today, all these curses will come upon you and overtake you:
16  You will be cursed in the city and cursed in the country.
17  Your basket and your kneading trough will be cursed.
18  The fruit of your womb will be cursed, and the crops of your land, and the calves of your herds and the lambs of your flocks.
19  You will be cursed when you come in and cursed when you go out.
20  The LORD will send on you curses, confusion and rebuke in everything you put your hand to, until you are destroyed and come to sudden ruin because of the evil you have done in forsaking him.

On verses 15-29:  Whenever you read the Old Testament, it’s important to read it with New Testament eyes. That’s because the Old Testament is not complete without the New Testament. So whenever you see something in the Old Testament, don’t stop there. Instead ask yourself: how does this play out in the New Testament? How does Jesus affect what I’m reading in the Old Testament? When you read the Old Testament with New Testament eyes, God’s Word comes to life like never before.

祂是我們的平安

箴言 20:21  起初速得的產業,終久卻不為福。

閱讀經文:箴言20:20-22

20咒罵父母的,他的燈必滅,變為漆黑的黑暗。21起初速得的產業,終久卻不為福。22你不要說「我要以惡報惡」,要等候耶和華,祂必拯救你。

第20節:咒罵父母的,他的燈必滅,變為漆黑的黑暗。Anyone who curses father and mother  extinguishes light and exists benighted.《The Message》

有很多人誤解福音,以為父母死後,人不供奉就是不孝。其實在聖經裡有多處教導我們孝順父母,若不孝順,那個懲罰可大了。人死後什麼都不知道,供奉何益,真正的孝順還是要在父母還活著時,使他們高興,那才是孝順。

在以色列人領受律法時,“咒罵父母的,必要把他治死”(出21:17)。有一個主日,我們停車後走向教堂時,前面有一個老婦人突然停住腳。在她旁邊的男人大聲叫:“你不可以邊走邊擤鼻涕嗎?非得停下來不可嗎?”他突然驚覺我們可能聽到了,很快不再大聲,轉為小聲跟老婦人說笑。因為他也是去教堂,他知道聖經的教導。其實他應該擔心的是那有眼能看,有耳能聽的耶和華神,而不是我們這兩個與他無相干的外人。

父母年記大了,動作難免緩慢,有的人就覺得父母很難侍候。但是在我們年幼無知時,父母也是這樣等待我們。在十誡的第五誡裡說:“當孝敬父母,使你的日子在耶和華你神所賜你的地上得以長久。”所以孝敬父母,生命得以蒙福;相反地,咒罵父母的,他的燈必滅,沒有指望的意思。他的人生會變為漆黑的黑暗,因為神不祝福他了,沒有光的生命,走在黑暗中的生命。