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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将会知道

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以赛亚书43:19  看哪，我要做一件新事；如今要发现，你们岂不知道吗？我必在旷野开道路，在沙漠开江河。

最近，我正尝试减少止痛药的剂量。秉持实验的精神，我一颗一颗地尝试，但其中有一颗药，只要稍微减少，马上就感受到强烈的不适。

那天与朋友外出吃火锅，因为我早早吃饱，加上脖子不舒服，我就自己慢慢走回家。路上，抬头看见满天的云彩，天空壮丽秀美，但我心情却一点也不美丽。我咒诅，我抱怨，我埋怨上帝为何让我在人生最精华的岁月里承受这样的苦痛，我心里呼喊：「我苦啊，上帝！」

回到家，睡前滑着手机，看到一则短影音。一位年轻男孩努力卖木瓜赚钱，但更令我震撼的是，他没有双手，只有到前臂的关节。痛苦也许不是比较出来的，但那一刻，我真实地觉得：我的苦，好像也没那么不可承受。至少我还有手、有脚，还能工作、读书。这样，已经很好了。

「看哪，我要做一件新事；如今要发现，你们岂不知道吗？我必在旷野开道路，在沙漠开江河。」（以赛亚书43:19）我期望神在我生命中做新事，但是新事的开始却是眼前的旷野与沙漠！我是否愿意接受…

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马大，我不是说不要做事

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路加福音10:25-37

有一个律法师起来试探耶稣，说：「夫子，我该做什么才可以承受永生？」 26 耶稣对他说：「律法上写的是什么？你念的是怎样呢？」 27 他回答说：「你要尽心、尽性、尽力、尽意爱主你的神，又要爱邻舍如同自己。」 28 耶稣说：「你回答的是。你这样行，就必得永生。」 29 那人要显明自己有理，就对耶稣说：「谁是我的邻舍呢？」 30 耶稣回答说：「有一个人从耶路撒冷下耶利哥去，落在强盗手中。他们剥去他的衣裳，把他打个半死，就丢下他走了。 31 偶然有一个祭司从这条路下来，看见他，就从那边过去了。 32 又有一个利未人来到这地方，看见他，也照样从那边过去了。 33 唯有一个撒马利亚人行路来到那里，看见他，就动了慈心， 34 上前用油和酒倒在他的伤处，包裹好了，扶他骑上自己的牲口，带到店里去照应他。 35 第二天拿出二钱银子来，交给店主说：『你且照应他，此外所费用的，我回来必还你。』 36 你想，这三个人哪一个是落在强盗手中的邻舍呢？」 37 他说：「是怜悯他的。」耶稣说：「你去照样行吧。」

神的话提醒我，耶稣要马大不要被任何人事物分心，要把焦点放在耶稣身上，我心里还是有个疑问，为什么马利亚可以什么事都不做？

我回头看了这段经文的前一段，发现是好撒马利亚人的比喻（路加福音10:25-37）。好撒马利亚人不像是没做事的马利亚，他可是做了一堆事，照顾伤者的伤处，带他到可休息的地方，隔天又帮他付钱。

我想神提醒我，祭司、利未人、好撒马利亚人、马利亚、马大，他们都在学习大诫命，爱神并且爱人。当我认为马利亚不做事被耶稣肯定，其实是看错重点了，耶稣不是在说很会做事、或做很多事的人错了；耶稣是说如果想要像好撒马利亚人一样地去爱人，并能持续用爱服事人，要把焦点放在耶稣身上，让祂爱人的心，成为驱动我们去爱神、爱人的动力。

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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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马大，不要分心

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路加福音 10:38-41

 他们走路的时候，耶稣进了一个村庄。有一个女人名叫马大，接他到自己家里。 39 她有一个妹子名叫马利亚，在耶稣脚前坐着听他的道。 40 马大伺候的事多，心里忙乱，就进前来说：「主啊，我的妹子留下我一个人伺候，你不在意吗？请吩咐她来帮助我。」 41 耶稣回答说：「马大，马大，你为许多的事思虑烦扰， 42 但是不可少的只有一件。马利亚已经选择那上好的福分，是不能夺去的。」

我知道我的弱点是常落入「因行为称义」的试探，经常一不小心，就会带着自己的好行为，来到上帝的面前。这时候，我通常会「分心」，东张（隐含着对神的抱怨）西望（伴随着对人的不满），因为我认为我的好行为应该要换得神更多的爱，或是要获得比别人更多的肯定。

当我读路加福音10:38-42，马利亚怎能获得耶稣的肯定？我真实的反应认为，耶稣，祢怎么可以对马大说这样的风凉话呢？如果马大可以选择，如果有人和她一起分工，谁会想这么辛苦地做工，到头来还被泼冷水呢。这难道不是在暗示，马大所做的事没有价值，没做事的马利亚却拥有最好的？

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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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报告好消息

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箴言24:17  你仇敌跌倒，你不要欢喜；他倾倒，你心不要快乐。

提摩太后书4:3-4  人必厌烦纯正的道理，耳朵发痒，就随从自己的情欲，增添好些师傅；并且掩耳不听真道，偏向荒渺的言语。

腓立比书4:8    弟兄们，我还有未尽的话，凡是真实的、可敬的、公义的、清洁的、可爱的、有美名的，若有什么德行，若有什么称赞，这些事你们都要思念。

你有没有发现，我们总是对坏消息特别敏感？打开新闻，天灾人祸、丑闻败露、权力斗争总能占据头条，而那些正面、温暖、具建设性的消息，反而往往被忽略。为什么我们会如此？

从始祖在伊甸园中选择悖逆神开始，人类就进入堕落的生命，保罗说：「世人都犯了罪，亏缺了神的荣耀。」（罗马书3:23）这种堕落的生命让人心被黑暗吸引，耶利米书17:9指出：「人心比万物都诡诈，坏到极处，谁能识透呢？」坏消息往往涉及人性的阴暗面，谎言、背叛、斗争、灾难与报复，这些不只是吸引注意，更在某种程度上「与我们内心的败坏共鸣」。

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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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