Part of Something Greater

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 16:17-27.  Let’s go!

Romans 16:17-19 (NIV)
17  I urge you, brothers, to watch out for those who cause divisions and put obstacles in your way that are contrary to the teaching you have learned. Keep away from them.
18  For such people are not serving our Lord Christ, but their own appetites. By smooth talk and flattery they deceive the minds of naive people.
19  Everyone has heard about your obedience, so I am full of joy over you; but I want you to be wise about what is good, and innocent about what is evil.

On verses 17-19:  Treating people with love, honour and respect does not mean that we must put up with behaviour that damages, divides or diverts the body of Christ off course.  That’s why Paul warns the Christians in Rome to watch out for those who cause divisions and who try to turn them away from sound Biblical teaching. 

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Because EQ Matters

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Hi GAMErs!

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

Romans 16:1-2 (NIV)
1  I commend to you our sister Phoebe, a servant of the church in Cenchrea.
2  I ask you to receive her in the Lord in a way worthy of the saints and to give her any help she may need from you, for she has been a great help to many people, including me.

On verses 1-2:  It would still be some time before Paul would be able to visit Rome.  In the meantime, Paul asks the church in Rome to welcome Phoebe.  Many believe that Phoebe was the one delivering this letter to the church in Rome on Paul’s behalf.  If that is the case, here’s a lesson for us:  Just as the church in Rome was to treat Phoebe the messenger with honour, we want to treat with honour those who bring God’s Word to us, whether it’s in the way we welcome them, speak to them, speak about them or otherwise treat them.

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满足感

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箴言27:20   阴间和灭亡永不满足，人的眼目也是如此。

阅读经文：箴言 27:18-20

18看守无花果树的必吃树上的果子，敬奉主人的必得尊荣。19水中照脸，彼此相符；人与人，心也相对。20阴间和灭亡永不满足，人的眼目也是如此。

看守无花果树的

If you care for your orchard (the fig tree), you’ll enjoy its fruit; if you honor your boss, you’ll be honored. 《The Message》

在信息圣经里，毕牧师把无花果树译为果园orchard，或许是觉得果园更符合一般工人所做的事情。18节说：“看守无花果树的必吃树上的果子，敬奉主人的必得尊荣”。若译为看守果园的必得吃树上的果子，敬奉主人的必得尊荣。想来一看就明白了。

在圣经里神把以色列家比喻为无花果树，那必然是一片大林子，而不只是一两棵树。忠诚为神守住这个果园的工人，必然也从树的果子得到供养，就像在神的家中服事，也当得到会众的供养。因为会众所得的收获和祝福，莫忘了是牧者辛勤的后果。

牧者的主人便是神，牧者若尊神为大，神也必祝福他的工作，赐给他恩宠。

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When One Chapter of Your Life Closes

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 15:22-33.  Let’s go!

Romans 15:22-24 (NIV)
22  This is why I have often been hindered from coming to you.
23  But now that there is no more place for me to work in these regions, and since I have been longing for many years to see you,
24  I plan to do so when I go to Spain. I hope to visit you while passing through and to have you assist me on my journey there, after I have enjoyed your company for a while.

On verses 22-24:  Paul had spent many years trying to take the gospel of Jesus Christ to places in the Eastern Mediterranean where people had not yet heard.  That was his mission.  Now Paul was finding that “there is no more place for me to work in these regions” (v23), since those regions now had reasonable access to the gospel.  Having accomplished basically all that he wanted to accomplish in those regions, Paul looked forward to finally visiting the church in Rome, something he had longed to do for a while.  He was finally making plans to visit Rome on his way to Spain.

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什么是有效的沟通？

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箴言27:17  铁磨铁，磨出刃来，朋友相感也是如此。

阅读经文：箴言 27:15-17

15大雨之日连连滴漏和争吵的妇人一样，16想拦阻她的便是拦阻风，也是右手抓油。17铁磨铁，磨出刃来，朋友相感也是如此。

不要重复讲抱怨的话

怨气如疾风，想挡也挡不住。怒气似挥发油，想抓也抓不著。人与人相处，怨怒一定会有。我们需要主耶稣，教我们安静。

「想拦阻他的，便是拦阻风，也是右手抓油。」(箴言二十七：16)这节是接上一节：「大雨之日连连滴漏，和争吵的妇人一样。」(箴言二十七：15)可见争吵如漏水，难补。又像吹风，难拦阻。感情的伤口上，难有止痛剂。愤怒的家，难有排气孔。

这提醒我们，言语是用来表达，以增加沟通。如果讲话像连连滴漏，对方将以为你是老调重弹，不过发泄情绪，了无意义。老是自讲自话，将造成自我隔绝，这是非常危险的事。愿我们说话是有沟通的目的，不要老发怨言。

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Focus on the Grace God Has Given You

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Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Romans 15:14-21.  Let’s go!

Romans 15:14-21 (NIV)
14  I myself am convinced, my brothers, that you yourselves are full of goodness, complete in knowledge and competent to instruct one another.
15  I have written you quite boldly on some points, as if to remind you of them again, because of the grace God gave me
16  to be a minister of Christ Jesus to the Gentiles with the priestly duty of proclaiming the gospel of God, so that the Gentiles might become an offering acceptable to God, sanctified by the Holy Spirit.
17  Therefore I glory in Christ Jesus in my service to God.
18  I will not venture to speak of anything except what Christ has accomplished through me in leading the Gentiles to obey God by what I have said and done–
19  by the power of signs and miracles, through the power of the Spirit. So from Jerusalem all the way around to Illyricum, I have fully proclaimed the gospel of Christ.
20  It has always been my ambition to preach the gospel where Christ was not known, so that I would not be building on someone else’s foundation.
21  Rather, as it is written: “Those who were not told about him will see, and those who have not heard will understand.”
 
On verses 14-21:  A running theme in the book of Romans is: focus on the grace God has given you.  

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见祸藏躲是通达

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箴言27:14  清晨起来大声给朋友祝福的，就算是咒诅他。

阅读经文：箴言 27:12-14

12通达人见祸藏躲，愚蒙人前往受害。13谁为生人作保，就拿谁的衣服；谁为外女作保，谁就承当。14清晨起来大声给朋友祝福的，就算是咒诅他。

见祸藏躲是通达

12通达人见祸藏躲，愚蒙人前往受害。

A prudent person sees trouble coming and ducks; a simpleton walks in blindly and is clobbered. 《The Message》

当我们看到路上有一个大坑时，谁都不会往前走，让自己掉下去；但是有的人去滑雪或上山时，看到警告的界线，却常常会故意出界，以致落入险境，要耗费许多时间、人力和金钱，或许可以救回他们的性命，当然有不少人因而丧失性命。在没有查觉危险时，他们总是觉得自己很能干，绝对不会有什么事，因而故意不理会警告，去走偏路。

最近同志平权运动，同运人仕企图改变婚姻的本质，颠覆家庭的实在。很多人都明白家庭的稳定是社会安定的基础，但是他们认为异性恋中有许多失败及出轨，所以干脆大家一起乱。不管有多少人对家庭不忠，却不能因而就抹煞婚姻和家庭的重要性，不能以淫乱作为社会的准则。再多的错，加起来都不能成为对。何况出轨的究竟是少数，还有更多人守住了自己的家庭，在安静中承担著伦理的道德与责任。

“通达人见祸藏躲，愚蒙人前往受害”，通达人之所以能见祸藏躲，因为历史已是明鉴；愚蒙人之所以前往受害，因为他们太自负了，以为可以躲过罪的綑绑和惩罚。他们遮住眼睛，盖住耳朵，一心朝着撒旦的设计和情欲的陷阱直奔。但愿我们可以遵循神的话语，做一个通达人，保守自己，也保守我们的后裔。

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好友如精油

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箴言27:9  膏油与香料使人心喜悦，朋友诚实的劝教也是如此甘美。

阅读经文：箴言 27:9-11

9膏油与香料使人心喜悦，朋友诚实的劝教也是如此甘美。10你的朋友和父亲的朋友，你都不可离弃。你遭难的日子，不要上弟兄的家去，相近的邻舍强如远方的弟兄。11我儿，你要做智慧人，好叫我的心欢喜，使我可以回答那讥诮我的人。

好友如精油

9膏油与香料使人心喜悦，朋友诚实的劝教也是如此甘美。

Just as lotions and fragrance give sensual delight, a sweet friendship refreshes the soul. 《The Message》

膏油与香料都是古时上等阶级才能使用的，不仅可以美容，并且香气令人心神舒畅。毕德生牧师的译文里，采取了现代人容易明白的“乳液和香料lotions and fragrance”，来对照与朋友诚实的交往对我们灵魂的益处。

与古代膏油与香料对比现代的，可算是各种植物的精油，因为膏油与香料也都是从植物或动物中提炼出来的。每一种精油的香味都有不同的用处，也有不同的功用。例如，简单地说：薰衣草可以促进睡眠、驱逐蚊虫，天竺葵可以快速消除疲劳，乳香可以镇静情绪，山茶油可以抗菌，等等。

我们所结交的朋友也各有特性。有的朋友逗你笑，有的朋友人脉很广，有的朋友很能安慰人，有的朋友气质很好令人想学习。不一定是要劝教才能领略到朋友的好处，只要有真实甜美的交往，每个朋友都可以成为我们人生里不可缺少的一种精油，使我们的灵魂得到好处。学习欣赏你的朋友们的长处吧!

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When You Get Tired of Serving Others

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Hi GAMErs!

There are so many lessons we can learn from today’s passage, Romans 15:1-13.  Let’s go!

Romans 15:1-3 (NIV)
1  We who are strong ought to bear with the failings of the weak and not to please ourselves.
2  Each of us should please his neighbor for his good, to build him up.
3  For even Christ did not please himself but, as it is written: “The insults of those who insult you have fallen on me.”
 
On verses 1-3:  One of the big lessons of Romans is that we don’t live to please ourselves, but we live to serve others.  That’s the whole point of Romans 14 and now in Romans 15:1-2 says it even more directly.  And why do we live not just to please ourselves but to serve others?  Because that’s how Jesus lived (v3). 

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肉体的满足

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箴言27:7  人吃饱了，厌恶蜂房的蜜；人饥饿了，一切苦物都觉甘甜。

阅读经文：箴言 27:7-8

7人吃饱了，厌恶蜂房的蜜；人饥饿了，一切苦物都觉甘甜。8人离本处漂流，好像雀鸟离窝游飞。

「人吃饱了，厌恶蜂房的蜜；人饥饿了，一切苦物都觉甘甜」 (箴言二十七：7) 。

肉体的满足

「人吃饱了，厌恶蜂房的蜜；人饥饿了，一切苦物都觉甘甜」 (箴言二十七：7) 。

今年有许多节日，包括你的生日，你是否收到许多礼物了？你满意吗？假如你不满意的话，想想若是非洲的穷人收到你得到的礼物，他们会怎样呢？会不会欣喜若狂？所以我们接受的东西，本质上都是好的，但凭收的人的心情和情况来决定那是否讨人喜欢的礼物。

在这物质爆炸的时代，收到什么都不足为奇。因为我们平时拥有的已经太多。就好像以前的人，只有在过年过节才有大鱼大肉，所以觉得那就是美食；但是现代人平常吃得已经十分丰富，所以过年过节时，反而想吃得清淡一些，免得自己的身体消化不了。

蜂蜜原本是非常好的食物，但是对于吃饱的人而言，舔一口也嫌多。但是对于饥饿的人，就是苦瓜下饭，也觉味美甘甜。所以当我们感到不满足时，就要学习付出，免得我们再也无法品尝到神恩典的滋味。学习饥饿时才进食，才能感觉食物的重要和滋味；学习付出，才能明白自己拥有的是何等珍贵。让肉体经常劳动，不要一直处在太安逸的情况里，你才能体会到睡觉的甘甜。所以，缺乏，是神给人最美好的礼物。（舟子）

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