You Need to Belong to a Local Church

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 17:1-16. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 17:1-9 (NIV)
1  The LORD said to Moses,
2  “Speak to Aaron and his sons and to all the Israelites and say to them: ‘This is what the LORD has commanded:
3  Any Israelite who sacrifices an ox, a lamb or a goat in the camp or outside of it

On verses 1-9:  In Leviticus 17, some of the Israelites were no longer going to worship with their Israelite brothers and sisters at the Tent of Meeting.  Instead of bringing their worship sacrifices to the Tent of Meeting where they could worship together with other believers and priests, some Israelites may have thought, “Well, isn’t God everywhere? 

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Jesus the Scapegoat

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 16:1-34. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 16:1-19 (NIV)
1  The LORD spoke to Moses after the death of the two sons of Aaron who died when they approached the LORD.
2  The LORD said to Moses: “Tell your brother Aaron not to come whenever he chooses into the Most Holy Place behind the curtain in front of the atonement cover on the ark, or else he will die, because I appear in the cloud over the atonement cover.

On verses 1-19:  In the tabernacle where the Israelites would gather to worship and give their sacrifices to God, there was, curtained off and closed to the public, a smaller room called the “Most Holy Place”.  In the Most Holy Place would be the ark of the covenant, which was an ornate gold-covered box that contained the stone tablets bearing the 10 commandments.

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將會知道

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以賽亞書43:19  看哪，我要做一件新事；如今要發現，你們豈不知道嗎？我必在曠野開道路，在沙漠開江河。

最近，我正嘗試減少止痛藥的劑量。秉持實驗的精神，我一顆一顆地嘗試，但其中有一顆藥，只要稍微減少，馬上就感受到強烈的不適。

那天與朋友外出吃火鍋，因為我早早吃飽，加上脖子不舒服，我就自己慢慢走回家。路上，抬頭看見滿天的雲彩，天空壯麗秀美，但我心情卻一點也不美麗。我咒詛，我抱怨，我埋怨上帝為何讓我在人生最精華的歲月裡承受這樣的苦痛，我心裡呼喊：「我苦啊，上帝！」

回到家，睡前滑著手機，看到一則短影音。一位年輕男孩努力賣木瓜賺錢，但更令我震撼的是，他沒有雙手，只有到前臂的關節。痛苦也許不是比較出來的，但那一刻，我真實地覺得：我的苦，好像也沒那麼不可承受。至少我還有手、有腳，還能工作、讀書。這樣，已經很好了。

「看哪，我要做一件新事；如今要發現，你們豈不知道嗎？我必在曠野開道路，在沙漠開江河。」（以賽亞書43:19）我期望神在我生命中做新事，但是新事的開始卻是眼前的曠野與沙漠！我是否願意接受…

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馬大，我不是說不要做事

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路加福音10:25-37

有一個律法師起來試探耶穌，說：「夫子，我該做什麼才可以承受永生？」 26 耶穌對他說：「律法上寫的是什麼？你念的是怎樣呢？」 27 他回答說：「你要盡心、盡性、盡力、盡意愛主你的神，又要愛鄰舍如同自己。」 28 耶穌說：「你回答的是。你這樣行，就必得永生。」 29 那人要顯明自己有理，就對耶穌說：「誰是我的鄰舍呢？」 30 耶穌回答說：「有一個人從耶路撒冷下耶利哥去，落在強盜手中。他們剝去他的衣裳，把他打個半死，就丟下他走了。 31 偶然有一個祭司從這條路下來，看見他，就從那邊過去了。 32 又有一個利未人來到這地方，看見他，也照樣從那邊過去了。 33 唯有一個撒馬利亞人行路來到那裡，看見他，就動了慈心， 34 上前用油和酒倒在他的傷處，包裹好了，扶他騎上自己的牲口，帶到店裡去照應他。 35 第二天拿出二錢銀子來，交給店主說：『你且照應他，此外所費用的，我回來必還你。』 36 你想，這三個人哪一個是落在強盜手中的鄰舍呢？」 37 他說：「是憐憫他的。」耶穌說：「你去照樣行吧。」

神的話提醒我，耶穌要馬大不要被任何人事物分心，要把焦點放在耶穌身上，我心裡還是有個疑問，為什麼馬利亞可以什麼事都不做？

我回頭看了這段經文的前一段，發現是好撒馬利亞人的比喻（路加福音10:25-37）。好撒馬利亞人不像是沒做事的馬利亞，他可是做了一堆事，照顧傷者的傷處，帶他到可休息的地方，隔天又幫他付錢。

我想神提醒我，祭司、利未人、好撒馬利亞人、馬利亞、馬大，他們都在學習大誡命，愛神並且愛人。當我認為馬利亞不做事被耶穌肯定，其實是看錯重點了，耶穌不是在說很會做事、或做很多事的人錯了；耶穌是說如果想要像好撒馬利亞人一樣地去愛人，並能持續用愛服事人，要把焦點放在耶穌身上，讓祂愛人的心，成為驅動我們去愛神、愛人的動力。

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Made Clean With A Touch

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 15:16-33. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 15:16-24 (NIV)
16  “‘When a man has an emission of semen, he must bathe his whole body with water, and he will be unclean till evening.
17  Any clothing or leather that has semen on it must be washed with water, and it will be unclean till evening.
18  When a man lies with a woman and there is an emission of semen, both must bathe with water, and they will be unclean till evening.

On verses 16-24:  Why is it that a man’s emission of semen would cause a man and the woman he lay with to be ceremonially unclean (v16-18)?  Why is it that a woman’s period (v19-24) or a woman bleeding outside of her regular period (v25-27) would cause the woman and anything the woman sits on to be ceremonially unclean?  

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The Bible Is Ahead Of Its Time

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 15:1-15. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 15:1-15 (NIV)
1  The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
2  “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When any man has a bodily discharge, the discharge is unclean.
3  Whether it continues flowing from his body or is blocked, it will make him unclean. This is how his discharge will bring about uncleanness:

On verses 1-15:  What discharge is Leviticus 15:1-15 talking about?  It is widely believed that the discharge is probably gonorrhea, a sexually transmitted disease.  Alternatively, some scholars speculate that the discharge may have been urinary bilharzia (also known as snail fever or schistosomiasis), a known infectious disease of the ancient world caused by a parasite that would sometimes live in water systems.

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馬大，不要分心

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路加福音 10:38-41

 他們走路的時候，耶穌進了一個村莊。有一個女人名叫馬大，接他到自己家裡。 39 她有一個妹子名叫馬利亞，在耶穌腳前坐著聽他的道。 40 馬大伺候的事多，心裡忙亂，就進前來說：「主啊，我的妹子留下我一個人伺候，你不在意嗎？請吩咐她來幫助我。」 41 耶穌回答說：「馬大，馬大，你為許多的事思慮煩擾， 42 但是不可少的只有一件。馬利亞已經選擇那上好的福分，是不能奪去的。」

我知道我的弱點是常落入「因行為稱義」的試探，經常一不小心，就會帶著自己的好行為，來到上帝的面前。這時候，我通常會「分心」，東張（隱含著對神的抱怨）西望（伴隨著對人的不滿），因為我認為我的好行為應該要換得神更多的愛，或是要獲得比別人更多的肯定。

當我讀路加福音10:38-42，馬利亞怎能獲得耶穌的肯定？我真實的反應認為，耶穌，祢怎麼可以對馬大說這樣的風涼話呢？如果馬大可以選擇，如果有人和她一起分工，誰會想這麼辛苦地做工，到頭來還被潑冷水呢。這難道不是在暗示，馬大所做的事沒有價值，沒做事的馬利亞卻擁有最好的？

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Why Does God Care About Mildew?

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 14:33-57. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 14:33-48 (NIV)
33  The LORD said to Moses and Aaron,
34  “When you enter the land of Canaan, which I am giving you as your possession, and I put a spreading mildew in a house in that land,
35  the owner of the house must go and tell the priest, ‘I have seen something that looks like mildew in my house.’

On verses 33-48:  Here the Lord gives Moses and Aaron regulations about how to inspect houses containing mildew.  As you read Leviticus, you’ll find that priests in ancient Israel wore many hats – spiritual leader, teacher, butcher, skin examiner, social worker, and here house inspector.  Here the priests are given a protocol for dealing with houses containing mold.  That protocol could be summed as follows: clear the house (v36), examine it (v37), close it up and leave it for seven days (v38), and re-inspect (v39).  

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報告好消息

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箴言24:17  你仇敵跌倒，你不要歡喜；他傾倒，你心不要快樂。

提摩太後書4:3-4  人必厭煩純正的道理，耳朵發癢，就隨從自己的情慾，增添好些師傅；並且掩耳不聽真道，偏向荒渺的言語。

腓立比書4:8    弟兄們，我還有未盡的話，凡是真實的、可敬的、公義的、清潔的、可愛的、有美名的，若有什麼德行，若有什麼稱讚，這些事你們都要思念。

你有沒有發現，我們總是對壞消息特別敏感？打開新聞，天災人禍、醜聞敗露、權力鬥爭總能佔據頭條，而那些正面、溫暖、具建設性的消息，反而往往被忽略。為什麼我們會如此？

從始祖在伊甸園中選擇悖逆神開始，人類就進入墮落的生命，保羅說：「世人都犯了罪，虧缺了神的榮耀。」（羅馬書3:23）這種墮落的生命讓人心被黑暗吸引，耶利米書17:9指出：「人心比萬物都詭詐，壞到極處，誰能識透呢？」壞消息往往涉及人性的陰暗面，謊言、背叛、鬥爭、災難與報復，這些不只是吸引注意，更在某種程度上「與我們內心的敗壞共鳴」。

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God’s Provision When I Couldn’t Afford It

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Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 14:19-32. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 14:19-32 (NIV)
19  “Then the priest is to sacrifice the sin offering and make atonement for the one to be cleansed from his uncleanness. After that, the priest shall slaughter the burnt offering
20  and offer it on the altar, together with the grain offering, and make atonement for him, and he will be clean.

On verses 19-32:  Leviticus 14:1-32 is talking about the process by which a leper who was once quarantined from the community due to his skin condition could be restored to the community.

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