Start With Where They’re At

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 8:26-40.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
Acts 8:26-28 (NIV)
26  Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
27  So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
28  and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.
 
On verses 26-28:  God tells Philip to go south to the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza.  God doesn’t tell Philip why.  On his way Philip meets the treasurer of the Egyptian government.  According to the New American Commentary, eunuchs in the ancient Near East were men who had been castrated at a young age and were put in charge of the royal harem and the treasury.   

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主每早晨提醒我

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創世記 1:31  神看著一切所造的都甚好。有晚上，有早晨，是第六日。

使徒行傳 17:24-25   創造宇宙和其中萬物的神，既是天地的主，就不住人手所造的殿， 25 也不用人手服侍，好像缺少什麼，自己倒將生命、氣息、萬物賜給萬人。

天尚未亮的清晨，走出家門，大樓管理員近似敬禮的跟我打招呼，我受寵若驚地感受他的盡責和誠懇；沿著街道，傾聽路跑者規律的腳步聲，由遠而近，迴盪著他們的活力和耐力；路旁老先生、老太太提著小提袋，等著進入游泳池晨泳，舒展手腳，臉上露出生命的堅持；迎面來輛腳踏車，搖晃車身上猛然向我揮手的是那每天清晨不期而遇，精神恍惚、喃喃自語，我避之不及的老頭，他認得我，還揮手跟我打招呼；拐進7-11，忙碌的身影放下拖把，帶著微笑習慣問我一杯中熱美，再加一句要不要寄杯、八折優待，我在親切的「謝謝光臨」聲中走出店門。

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神看著一切所造的都甚好

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創世記 1:31  神看著一切所造的都甚好。有晚上，有早晨，是第六日。

使徒行傳 17:24-25   創造宇宙和其中萬物的神，既是天地的主，就不住人手所造的殿， 25 也不用人手服侍，好像缺少什麼，自己倒將生命、氣息、萬物賜給萬人。

天尚未亮的清晨，走出家門，大樓管理員近似敬禮的跟我打招呼，我受寵若驚地感受他的盡責和誠懇；沿著街道，傾聽路跑者規律的腳步聲，由遠而近，迴盪著他們的活力和耐力；路旁老先生、老太太提著小提袋，等著進入游泳池晨泳，舒展手腳，臉上露出生命的堅持；迎面來輛腳踏車，搖晃車身上猛然向我揮手的是那每天清晨不期而遇，精神恍惚、喃喃自語，我避之不及的老頭，他認得我，還揮手跟我打招呼；拐進7-11，忙碌的身影放下拖把，帶著微笑習慣問我一杯中熱美，再加一句要不要寄杯、八折優待，我在親切的「謝謝光臨」聲中走出店門。

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Be Filled With The Holy Spirit

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 8:14-25.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

Acts 8:14-17 (NIV)
14  When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
15  When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16  because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
17  Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
 
On verses 14-17:  At THRIVE and the great majority of Christian churches, it is routinely taught that the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in us from the moment that we believe and trust Jesus as our Saviour.  So why is it that in Acts 8:14-17, the Samaritan Christians already believed in Jesus and had already been baptized, but that “the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them” (v16)? 

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我願意

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羅馬書 5:1-5

我們既因信稱義，就藉著我們的主耶穌基督得與神相和。 2 我們又藉著他，因信得進入現在所站的這恩典中，並且歡歡喜喜盼望神的榮耀。 3 不但如此，就是在患難中也是歡歡喜喜的。因為知道患難生忍耐， 4 忍耐生老練，老練生盼望， 5 盼望不至於羞恥，因為所賜給我們的聖靈將神的愛澆灌在我們心裡。

「我願意」是婚姻家庭的開端，面對的是與我不同的你（或妳），我需要改變自己來接納你（或妳），讓你（或妳）與我能和出成泥，可以白頭偕老，這要經過數十年的功夫。

「我願意」是養兒育女的起頭，面對的是未來像我的你（或妳），我需要改變自己來塑造你（或妳），讓你（或妳）成長有我的模樣，可以展翅高飛，這要經過二十年的澆灌。

「我願意」是跟隨耶穌的初始，面對的是我看不見的神，我需要改變自己來跟隨祂，讓我能常在祂裡面，活出祂的樣式，這是一生之久的歷程。

「我願意」是我的承諾，是屬於我的改變、我的挑戰、也是我的冒險；「我願意」關乎心志和毅力，需要聖靈將神的愛澆灌在我心裡，讓我在百般試煉中恆久忍耐；忍耐也當成功，使我們成全、完備，毫無缺欠。

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See Your Problems As Opportunities

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 8:1-13.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

Acts 8:1 (NIV)
1  And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
 
On verse 1:  Starting here in Acts 8 we will see how, through persecution and the scattering of God’s church, the gospel begins to go out from Jerusalem to the surrounding regions of Judea and Samaria.  Here God takes what Satan meant for evil – the persecution of Christians – and uses it to fulfill His own good purposes and advance His own agenda. 
 
Acts 8:2 (NIV)
2  Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
 
On verse 2:  Just because as believers we have hope of heaven doesn’t mean that we don’t feel incredible pain when someone we love dies and goes to heaven before we do.  It is godly to mourn deeply for those we miss.

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我需要祂

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詩篇 130 上行之詩。

1 耶和華啊，我從深處向祢求告。
2 主啊，求祢聽我的聲音！願祢側耳聽我懇求的聲音！
3 主耶和華啊，祢若究察罪孽，誰能站得住呢？

那是個不平安的下午，指導教授再度找我去談：「今年暑假我轉換教職到加州大學戴維斯分校，研究室成員都會隨我轉學到加州，你考慮的結果如何呢？」幾次跟指導教授據理力爭，我的回覆一直是否定的，因為我想要留在西北大學完成博士學位。離開指導教授的辦公室，他留下一句話給我：「那你今年碩士論文口試就排在最後一個…。」

帶著惶恐不安的心情走回住宿的地方，心想不順從老闆（窮留學生出國讀書，稱指導教授為老闆，因為他是衣食父母，掌管生殺大權），麻煩可大了，我的碩士論文口試大概要砸鍋，畢不了業了！蹣跚地走進我的蝸居（跟同學合租房子，分配住在儲物間），坐在擺在地面孤零零的一片床墊，心中百感交集；眼睛長針眼，用針戳破，好了，肚子痛，吞萬金油，也好了，上台報告，So what! I am nobody!也完成了…困難雖有，總是可以克服。但是，這一刻我深深覺得，我毫無辦法能面對這個難題，沒有人可以幫助我！

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Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 7:44-60.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

Acts 7:44-50 (NIV)
44  “Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
45  Having received the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David,
46  who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.

On verses 44-50:  After talking about how the Israelites rejected Moses’ leadership and worshiped idols instead (v30-43), Stephen turns his attention to the way the temple in Jerusalem was built.  Stephen recounts how God originally gave Moses specific designs for a tabernacle, which was a portable tent where His people could worship Him as they journeyed from place to place (v44).  The Israelites would use this portable tabernacle to worship Him throughout the days of Joshua until the reign of King David (v45-46). 

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上帝愛原住民

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創世記 1:26-27

26 神說：「我們要照著我們的形象，按著我們的樣式造人，使他們管理海裡的魚、空中的鳥、地上的牲畜和全地，並地上所爬的一切昆蟲。」 27 神就照著自己的形象造人，乃是照著祂的形象，造男造女。

為自己譜一曲、唱一首「上帝愛我」的詩歌！

花了1年3個月，柯俊傑與基督教中華循理會三和教會青年弟兄妹合力將《上帝愛原住民》專輯完成，這一條恩典與夢想之路，柯俊傑與教會走了10年…。「10年前我們為耶穌懷抱夢想，10年後這個夢想成真！」回憶澆灌夢想發芽的動機，是因為部落年輕人外移現象嚴重，讓柯俊傑開始思考要用音樂抓住他們的心，把青年留在教會中服事神。

當時半工半讀的他，在騎機車趕往下一個目的地的路程中哼唱、完成這首詩歌，主要傳達不管世人對原住民抱有何種眼光，但他相信神造每一個人和族群，都有祂獨特的計畫，這也是柯俊傑獻給上帝的歌。

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So That History Doesn’t Repeat Itself

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 7:30-43.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

Acts 7:30-43 (NIV)
30  “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
31  When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord’s voice:
32  ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.

On verses 30-43:  Here Stephen recounts how Moses obeyed the call of God and how God performed incredible signs and wonders through Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (v30-38).  Yet despite all this, the Israelites rejected Moses and chose to worship idols instead of the LORD (v39-43).  Stephen is connecting the way the Israelites in Moses’ time rejected Moses, God’s chosen servant, with the way many of Israelites’ opponents were now rejecting Jesus, God’s Son. 

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