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When The Holy Spirit Is At Work

2024-08-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 11:19-30.  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 11:19-24 (NIV)
19  Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.
20  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
21  The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.

On verses 19-24:  When Stephen was martyred and persecution broke out on the church in Jerusalem (Acts 7-8:3), the church scattered (Acts 8:4) and some Christians traveled to places like Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (v19).  Despite not having heard or seen the incredible ways that the Holy Spirit had touched the lives of Gentiles like Cornelius and household in Judea (Acts 10) or what the Holy Spirit did among Samaritans in Samaria (Acts 8), some of these scattered believers also began speaking to Gentiles about Jesus Christ, in particular Greeks at Antioch, who responded in great numbers (v21). 

看着数字、数算数目

2024-08-08 in , /by

以赛亚书 6:9-10  祂说：「你去告诉这百姓说：『你们听是要听见，却不明白；看是要看见，却不晓得。』 10 要使这百姓心蒙脂油，耳朵发沉，眼睛昏迷，恐怕眼睛看见，耳朵听见，心里明白，回转过来，便得医治。」

2022年6月27日下午3时52分左右，我在世界即时数据网站（worldometers, https://www.worldometers.info/tw/）攫取一些即时数据：

目前世界人口总数7,956,696,381，今年出生人数68,185,135，今年死亡人数28,625,753；今年由于传染病死亡的人数6,317,984，由癌症致死的人数3,997,092，由吸菸而造成死亡的人数2,432,949，由酗酒而造成死亡的人数1,217,242，五岁以下儿童死亡人数3,699,306，堕胎数20,796,626，自杀人数521,894。

目前世界上营养不良的人数861,751,469，肥胖的人数1,729,204,783，过度肥胖的人数812,067,281，今天死于饥饿的人数20,210。

今天全世界政府的医疗支出总额(美元) $10,597,752,569，教育支出总额$7,142,555,268，军事支出总额$3,117,582,002。

目前世界网路用户总数5,351,325,573，今天发出的电子邮件数187,233,853,619，今天谷歌搜索次数5,896,897,062，今天手机销售量4,664,565。

这世代唯一的神蹟

2024-08-07 in , /by

约拿书 4:2  就祷告耶和华说：「耶和华啊，我在本国的时候，岂不是这样说吗？我知道你是有恩典有怜悯的神，不轻易发怒，有丰盛的慈爱，并且后悔不降所说的灾，所以我急速逃往他施去。

约拿书 4:10-11  耶和华说：「这蓖麻不是你栽种的，也不是你培养的，一夜发生，一夜干死，你尚且爱惜，11 何况这尼尼微大城，其中不能分辨左手右手的有十二万多人，并有许多牲畜，我岂能不爱惜呢？」

神安排风浪，阻挡约拿逃往他施去躲避耶和华；约拿被人抬起，抛在海中，海的狂浪就平息了。

神安排大鱼，吞了约拿，他在鱼腹中三日三夜；约拿在鱼腹祷告许愿，神吩咐鱼吐约拿在旱地。

神安排蓖麻，高过约拿，影儿遮盖他的头，救他脱离苦楚；发怒中的约拿因这棵蓖麻大大喜乐。

神安排虫子，咬那蓖麻，以致枯槁；神安排东风，炎热吹袭，日头曝晒；约拿的头发昏，他就为自己求死。

神安排风浪、大鱼、蓖麻、虫子、东风、日头…，向约拿显明祂是有恩典、有怜悯的神，不轻易发怒，有丰盛的慈爱，并且后悔不降所说的灾（拿4:2）。耶稣说这世代唯一的神蹟是悔改的神蹟，是十架赦免的神蹟（路11:29-32）。

Seek to Understand Before You Criticize

2024-08-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 11:1-18.  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 11:1-18 (NIV)
1  The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2  So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
3  and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4  Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:

On verses 1-18:  The circumcised believers in Jerusalem criticized Peter for associating with Gentiles.  So “starting from the beginning” (v2), Peter explains what happened to him: the vision he saw while praying (v5-10), the three men Cornelius sent and who arrived right at that same moment (v11), his meeting with Cornelius (v12-14), the way the Holy Spirit fell on these new Gentile believers as Peter was preaching (v15) and the lessons he learned from these experiences (v16-17).

敬拜医治我们的神

2024-08-06 in , /by

男女老幼都要称颂耶稣永远不改变的慈爱–祂在十架上流出宝血，洁净一切信祂的人，让我们成为祂的子民。

/耶稣爱我，我知道/

耶稣爱我，我知道，因有圣经告诉我，幼小孩童祂牧养，他们软弱主刚强。

主耶稣爱我，主耶稣爱我，主耶稣爱我，因圣经告诉我。

耶稣爱我舍生命，将我罪恶洗干净，天堂恩门为我开，让祂小孩走进来。

/破碎/

怀着虔敬的心，我们来到祢的桌前；单单依靠祢的怜悯，数算祢慈爱无限。多少次远离，多少次的归回，祢深知我们的软弱，求祢施恩典。

求用破碎的身体，来拥抱我们的破碎，以倾注的宝血，来挽回我们的心，祢奇妙的救恩，我们永远无法完全体会。求用钉痕的双手，来缠裹我们的伤痕，将倒空的生命，来滋润我们的干渴，亲爱的救主，愿一生相随。

Jesus For Every Nation

2024-08-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 10:34-48.  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 10:34-35 (NIV)
34  Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
35  but accepts people from every nation who fear him and do what is right.
 
On verses 34-35:  Peter recognizes that it was the Holy Spirit who gave him and Cornelius each a vision around the same time and used those visions to bring the two of them together.  Even as he is preaching to Cornelius’ household, Peter himself is realizing that truly God’s heart is for people from every nation.

Obey Without Delay

2024-08-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 10:17-33.  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 10:17-19 (NIV)
17  While Peter was wondering about the meaning of the vision, the men sent by Cornelius found out where Simon’s house was and stopped at the gate.
18  They called out, asking if Simon who was known as Peter was staying there.
19  While Peter was still thinking about the vision, the Spirit said to him, “Simon, three men are looking for you.
 
On verses 17-19:  In verse 3 the Holy Spirit called Cornelius by name.  A number of times in Acts 10 the Holy Spirit calls Peter by name.  (In fact, the Holy Spirit calls him by his new name “Peter” in verse 13 and then calls him by his old name “Simon” in verse 19.)  What can we learn from this?  God is a personal loving Father who knows us and calls us by name.   

耐心等候神

2024-08-05 in , /by

撒母耳记上 13:1-14

扫罗登基年四十岁。做以色列王二年的时候， 2 就从以色列中拣选了三千人，二千跟随扫罗在密抹和伯特利山，一千跟随约拿单在便雅悯的基比亚；其余的人，扫罗都打发各回各家去了。 3 约拿单攻击迦巴非利士人的防营，非利士人听见了。扫罗就在遍地吹角，意思说要使希伯来人听见。 4 以色列众人听见扫罗攻击非利士人的防营，又听见以色列人为非利士人所憎恶，就跟随扫罗聚集在吉甲。

望着高铁窗外掠过的夕阳美景，内心没有丝毫感动，只有不断向神呼求怜悯的祷告…。刚刚出席我们预备承接研究案的开标作业，开标现场的长桌上坐着主办单位的业务、会计、政风人员，在拆封审视投标文件和研究计画书的当时，政风人员狐疑的冒出几句：「奇怪！这三间学校的投标计画书，除了投标金额不一样外，其他内容好像都一样？ 」标场气氛凝结片刻，没人答腔，开标继续进行，我们以最低的投标金额得标，承接这个研究案。离开标场，政风人员狐疑的眼神依然留存在我脑海里，带上回台南的高铁，伴随着忐忑不安的心情，回绕着我好几个星期，在每次的祷告中，我求神怜悯，求神赦免。

神安置永生在我心里

2024-08-04 in , /by

传道书 3:11-14   神造万物，各按其时成为美好，又将永生安置在世人心里，然而神从始至终的作为，人不能参透。 12 我知道，世人莫强如终身喜乐、行善。 13 并且人人吃喝，在他一切劳碌中享福，这也是神的恩赐。 14 我知道，神一切所做的都必永存，无所增添，无所减少，神这样行，是要人在祂面前存敬畏的心。

人的一生像一天的生活，早晨鸡鸣像婴儿啼哭入世，夜晚沉睡则恍如虚无离世；在其中，我们早早起床，喝杯咖啡，带着希望，充满活力…；大家整天忙碌，有时工作顺利，赢得赞许，有时遭遇挫折，深受伤害，有时一事无成，心情沮丧…；撑到夜幕低垂，有人加班值班，有人举杯欢宴，有人累缩沙发，有人悠游网域…；疲惫了，烂醉了，通通要休息，躺在床上，窝在沙发，趴在街道，沉沉睡了。没人能预知梦中有啥？谁能预约一个美梦？谁能将银行的存摺、丰盛的酒席、欢乐的音符带进睡梦中？或许有，那只不过是似有若无、虚无缥缈的梦境！

God’s Heart for Every Person on the Planet

2024-08-04 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 10:1-16.  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! 

Acts 10:1-4 (NIV)
1  At Caesarea there was a man named Cornelius, a centurion in what was known as the Italian Regiment.
2  He and all his family were devout and God-fearing; he gave generously to those in need and prayed to God regularly.
3  One day at about three in the afternoon he had a vision. He distinctly saw an angel of God, who came to him and said, “Cornelius!”
4  Cornelius stared at him in fear. “What is it, Lord?” he asked. The angel answered, “Your prayers and gifts to the poor have come up as a memorial offering before God.
 
On verse 4:  God heard the sincere prayers and took note of the generous donations Cornelius made to the poor, though Cornelius at this point had not yet put his trust in Jesus Christ.  Regardless of your faith position, God sees the good that you do and the sincerity with which you pray.  But if all the good you do was good enough to save you, God wouldn’t have sent Jesus Christ for you.  Likewise despite all the good that Cornelius had done in his lifetime, God still connected Cornelius to Peter so that Cornelius could hear the saving news about Jesus Christ.