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God Wants More Than Your Sacrifice

2024-10-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 15:17-35.  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! 
 
1 Samuel 15:17-19 (NIV) 
17 Samuel said, “Although you were once small in your own eyes, did you not become the head of the tribes of Israel? The LORD anointed you king over Israel. 
18 And he sent you on a mission, saying, ‘Go and completely destroy those wicked people, the Amalekites; make war on them until you have wiped them out.’ 
19 Why did you not obey the LORD? Why did you pounce on the plunder and do evil in the eyes of the LORD?” 

On verses 17-19:  Samuel reminds Saul of three important facts: (1) it was because of God that Saul became king of Israel (v17); (2) even as king, Saul was still accountable to God for his actions (v18); (3) by not doing what God told him to do, Saul disobeyed God (v19).  What can we learn from this? We are all accountable to God.  All of us — including the most “successful”, powerful or experienced among us — must answer to God for the way we live our lives.  

借给耶和华

2024-10-23 in , /by

箴言 11:24-30

24 有施散的却更增添，有吝惜过度的反致穷乏。 25 好施舍的必得丰裕，滋润人的必得滋润。 26 屯粮不卖的，民必咒诅他；情愿出卖的，人必为他祝福。 27 恳切求善的，就求得恩惠；唯独求恶的，恶必临到他身。 28 倚仗自己财物的必跌倒，义人必发旺如青叶。 29 扰害己家的必承受清风，愚昧人必做慧心人的仆人。 30 义人所结的果子就是生命树，有智慧的必能得人。

一位弟兄给了个分享：信主后，学习十一奉献。每个月固定薪水容易记得，但是不时有的外快，就怕会疏忽忘记；于是，开始养成习惯，一有收入，就将十分之一的金额记帐在记事本上，用蓝笔记下应该奉献、施舍的累积金额。

当实际奉献、施舍超出累积的金额该怎么办？那就用红笔记下来，反正不时的外快还是会补进来，让红字变蓝字。一年下来，到了年终，停在12月31日的是红字。上帝好像欠我一些收入，让我能补足那超出的奉献，简单的讲就是奉献超出十分之一了。想着想着，上帝欠我？不经哑然失笑，跟神祷告，我们一笔勾销罢！今年12月31日的红字就随着记事本结束，明年1月1日用蓝笔重新开始。

Thank God for the Samuels in Your Life

2024-10-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 15:1-16.  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!

1 Samuel 15:1 (NIV) 
1 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD. 

On verse 1:   Samuel comes to Saul with a message.  But before sharing that message, Samuel reminds Saul of that day when the LORD sent Samuel to anoint Saul as king.  Samuel is reminding Saul that it was the LORD who made it possible for Saul to be king.  There is no exaltation, no promotion, no lifting up of any person if God did not allow it.  As Psalm 75 says, “He brings one down; he exalts another”.  In other words, God is sovereign and we could not reach any height in life without Him.

来到主面前

2024-10-22 in , /by

彼得前书 2:4-5

主乃活石，固然是被人所弃的，却是被神所拣选、所宝贵的。 5 你们来到主面前，也就像活石，被建造成为灵宫，做圣洁的祭司，借着耶稣基督奉献神所悦纳的灵祭。

早晨的时候，一句话语「来到祢面前」进入脑海中，彼得的勉励（彼前2:4-5）提醒我，主是活石，当我来到主面前，我就像活石，是被神所拣选、所宝贵的。

我是石头，因着耶稣，我被赋予生命，活着，且充满活力。

我是石头，因着耶稣，我被建造成为属灵的房子，有圣灵居住在里面。

我是石头，因着耶稣，我可以献上自己当活祭，蒙神悦纳。

主乃活石，固然是被人所弃的，却是被神所拣选、所宝贵的。你们来到主面前，也就像活石，被建造成为灵宫，作圣洁的祭司，借着耶稣基督奉献神所悦纳的灵祭。（彼前2:4-5）

Victorious Wherever You Turn

2024-10-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 14:47-52.  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!

1 Samuel 14:47-48 (NIV) 
47 After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them. 
48 He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them. 

On verses 47-48:  Saul indeed faced challenges on every side: to the east he battled the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Edomites; to the north he contended with the kings of Zobah; to the west he fought the Philistines; and to the south, the Amalekites.  Yet verse 47 says that “wherever he went, he was victorious” and God granted Saul success.  I pray the same for you.  You may feel like you are facing challenges on every side right now.  But like Saul in verse 47, I pray that with God’s help and for God’s glory you will be victorious and successful wherever you turn. 

以认识神为夸口

2024-10-21 in , /by

罗马书 12:3  我凭著所赐我的恩对你们各人说：不要看自己过于所当看的，要照着神所分给各人信心的大小，看得合乎中道。

耶利米书 9:23-24  耶和华如此说：「智慧人不要因他的智慧夸口，勇士不要因他的勇力夸口，财主不要因他的财物夸口。 24 夸口的却因他有聪明，认识我是耶和华，又知道我喜悦在世上施行慈爱、公平和公义，以此夸口。」这是耶和华说的。

有个寓言故事说：有一只骄傲的青蛙喜欢自夸，在自家荷叶上跳的高、跳的远。为了显示自己的本领，牠向小白兔挑战赛跑。赛跑开始了，很快的小白兔即将超过牠；青蛙不承认失败，半途又提议比赛爬树；小白兔不会爬，认输放弃比赛，青蛙就嘲笑小白兔，且夸耀自己能跳又能爬。

这下激怒了一旁的小松鼠，小松鼠主动要和青蛙比赛爬树。青蛙爬不过小松鼠，不服气，说小松鼠没什么了不起，不能上天。小松鼠反问它：「你能上天吗？」觉得青蛙的吹嘘十分可笑。

一天，青蛙看见一群大雁飞过，忽然计从心来，央求大雁带牠上天。青蛙找来一根绳子，请大雁咬住前端，自己咬住尾端，大雁拍拍翅膀，青蛙咬著绳子果真上天了，地面上的小动物们见了都惊奇地叫唤起来。

When Spirituality Goes Overboard

2024-10-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 14:24-46.  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! 
 
1 Samuel 14:24-32 (NIV)
24  Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food.
25  The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground.

On verses 24-32:  Saul makes his army vow that while they are pursuing the Philistines, they will not eat anything until evening.  Now there are times in the Bible when God calls people to fast, or when individuals like Jesus, Daniel, or Moses fasted.  In those times, it was for the purpose of drawing near to God and getting centered and focused around God’s purposes.  In Saul’s case, however, this fasting campaign was centered around Saul’s own ego, as suggested by him when he says no one is to eat anything “before I have avenged myself on my enemies” (v24).

The Power of Unity

2024-10-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 14:1-23.  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! 
 
1 Samuel 14:1-23 (NIV)
1  One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
2  Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men,
3  among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left.

On verses 1-23:  Here we see how powerful it is when even two of God’s people are united in purpose.

Jonathan decides to attack one of the Philistine outposts, and he tells his young armor-bearer to come along.  I love the armor-bearer’s response: “Do all that you have in mind.  Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” (v7)  And indeed when Jonathan went up toward the Philistine outpost, his armor-bearer was “right behind him” (v13).  While Jonathan went ahead and attacked the Philistines, his armor-bearer “followed and killed behind him” (v13).  Together, against the odds, Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed 20 Philistines.

长青发旺

2024-10-20 in , /by

诗篇 71

17 神啊，自我年幼时祢就教训我，直到如今我传扬祢奇妙的作为。
18 神啊，我到年老发白的时候，求你不要离弃我，等我将祢的能力指示下代，将祢的大能指示后世的人。
19 神啊，祢的公义甚高；行过大事的神啊，谁能像祢？

「当你老了，头发白了，睡意昏沉⋯。」这是赵照很出名的一首歌。「老了」常与失去、失能、忧郁、失智…等联想在一起。但是，我们不要忘记圣经中的教导，年老长寿得来不易，是神特别的赐福，需爱惜神所赐给的礼物，要感谢，不埋怨；要快乐，不忧愁。

〈诗篇〉第71篇的作者谈到他一生的渴望：「神啊，我到年老发白的时候，求祢不要离弃我！等我将祢的能力指示下代，将祢的大能指示后世的人（诗71:18）。」

圣经教导我们明白神呼召老人，亚伯拉罕75岁（创12:4）、摩西80岁（出7:7）被神呼召，且赋予重任；神使用老人。迦勒85岁带领以色列百姓征服迦南地（书14:10），但以理为神工作70年，80岁仍是宰相，且每日三次向神祷告得着智慧。

Why God Sometimes Makes Us Wait A Little Longer Than We’d Like

2024-10-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 13:1-23.  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! 

1 Samuel 13:1-15 (NIV)
1  Saul was [thirty] years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel [forty-] two years.
2  Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.

On verses 1-15:  In these 15 verses, we see how one bad decision altered Saul’s destiny.  The sequence of events is fairly straightforward:

1. Saul’s first born son Jonathan leads a successful attack against the Philistines (v3-4).

2. In response, the Philistines come roaring back with a massive force, assembling at Micmash, ready to fight Israel (v5).