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Before You Take Someone’s Advice

2024-12-27 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 16:15-23.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

In this passage Absalom talks with two of David’s most trusted royal advisors in Israel: Hushai and Ahithophel.  While deep down Hushai is committed to protecting David, Ahithophel appears bent on destroying David.  

2 Samuel 16:15-19 (NIV) 
15 Meanwhile, Absalom and all the men of Israel came to Jerusalem, and Ahithophel was with him. 
16 Then Hushai the Arkite, David’s friend, went to Absalom and said to him, “Long live the king! Long live the king!” 
17 Absalom asked Hushai, “Is this the love you show your friend? Why didn’t you go with your friend?” 

On verses 15-19:  Hushai, a devoted friend and advisor of David, follows David’s instructions (15:32-37).  He goes to Absalom’s camp pretending to side with Absalom (v15-16).  Absalom is suspicious and questions Hushai (v17). 

2 Types of People You Meet in Your Tough Times

2024-12-26 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 16:1-14.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

2 Samuel 16:1-8 (NIV)
1  When David had gone a short distance beyond the summit, there was Ziba, the steward of Mephibosheth, waiting to meet him. He had a string of donkeys saddled and loaded with two hundred loaves of bread, a hundred cakes of raisins, a hundred cakes of figs and a skin of wine.
2  The king asked Ziba, “Why have you brought these?” Ziba answered, “The donkeys are for the king’s household to ride on, the bread and fruit are for the men to eat, and the wine is to refresh those who become exhausted in the desert.”

On verses 1-8:  As David continues his journey into exile, David meets Ziba, the servant of Jonathan’s son Mephibosheth.  Ziba brings a surprisingly large supply of donkeys, bread, cakes and wine to help David and his men on their journey.  When David asks Ziba where his crippled master Mephibosheth is, Ziba replies that Mephibosheth didn’t join David because Mephibosheth sees David’s exile as his opportunity to have David’s kingdom transferred back to him and his family (v3). 

长者得见救恩、传承盼望

2024-12-26 in , /by

路加福音2:21-39

满了八天，就给孩子行割礼，与他起名叫耶稣，这就是没有成胎以前天使所起的名。

22 按摩西律法满了洁净的日子，他们带着孩子上耶路撒冷去，要把他献于主， 23 正如主的律法上所记：「凡头生的男子，必称圣归主。」 24 又要照主的律法上所说，「或用一对斑鸠，或用两只雏鸽」献祭。

25 在耶路撒冷有一个人名叫西面，这人又公义又虔诚，素常盼望以色列的安慰者来到，又有圣灵在他身上。 26 他得了圣灵的启示，知道自己未死以前，必看见主所立的基督。 27 他受了圣灵的感动，进入圣殿，正遇见耶稣的父母抱着孩子进来，要照律法的规矩办理。 28 西面就用手接过他来，称颂神，说： 29 「主啊，如今可以照你的话，释放仆人安然去世！ 30 因为我的眼睛已经看见你的救恩， 31 就是你在万民面前所预备的， 32 是照亮外邦人的光，又是你民以色列的荣耀。」

路加福音2:21-39记载耶稣出生满了八天后，领受割礼，并起名叫耶稣（没有成胎以前，天使所起的名字；马太福音1:21）；再按照摩西律法，在母亲马利亚满了洁净的日子（40天；利未记12:2-8），他们带着孩子上耶路撒冷去，把祂献与神（凡头生的男子必分别为圣归与神；出埃及记13:2）。

耶稣的父母抱着孩子进入圣殿，遇见一个人名叫西面，他为人又公义又虔诚，素常盼望以色列的安慰者来到，又有圣灵在他身上。西面用手接过孩子，称颂神说：「主啊！如今可以照祢的话，释放仆人安然去世；因为我的眼睛已经看见祢的救恩，就是祢在万民面前所预备的：是照亮外邦人的光，又是祢民以色列的荣耀。」（2:29-32）

西面盼望寻见神，在年老的时候，他亲手抱耶稣，亲眼得见救恩；于是，欣然求神释放他安然去世，他知道耶稣为他开启那条路，那条路能到父那里去（约翰福音14:6）

The Roles You Play While The King’s Away

2024-12-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 15:17-37.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

2 Samuel 15:17-37 (NIV)
17  So the king set out, with all the people following him, and they halted at a place some distance away.
18  All his men marched past him, along with all the Kerethites and Pelethites; and all the six hundred Gittites who had accompanied him from Gath marched before the king.
19  The king said to Ittai the Gittite, “Why should you come along with us? Go back and stay with King Absalom. You are a foreigner, an exile from your homeland.

On verses 17-37:  In verse 30 we see David, in response to his betrayal by Absalom, going up the Mount of Olives weeping, with David’s most devoted followers in tow and weeping as well.  I can’t help but think forward to when Jesus the Son of David, in response to his impending betrayal by Judas, would go up the Mount of Olives, weeping in one of its gardens, with his followers in tow.  In both David’s case and Jesus’ case, we have a king who has voluntarily left their throne to be rejected and exiled.

我真爱讲这个故事

2024-12-25 in , /by

路加福音 2:15-20
15 众天使离开他们升天去了，牧羊的人彼此说：「我们往伯利恒去，看看所成的事，就是主所指示我们的。」 16 他们急忙去了，就寻见马利亚和约瑟，又有那婴孩卧在马槽里。 17 既然看见，就把天使论这孩子的话传开了。 18 凡听见的，就诧异牧羊之人对他们所说的话。 19 马利亚却把这一切的事存在心里，反复思想。 20 牧羊的人回去了，因所听见、所看见的一切事正如天使向他们所说的，就归荣耀于神，赞美他。

《我喜欢讲这故事(I Love to Tell the Story)》是一首著名的赞美诗，由英国福音传道者凯瑟琳·汉基(Katherine Hankey)写成的诗，威廉费雪(William G. Fischer)为这首诗配乐。

汉基在非洲传教时生了场重病，在漫长的康复期间，她于1866年写了一篇关于耶稣生平的长文，分为两部分；第一部分是一首五十节的诗，题为「想得着的故事(The Story Wanted)」（1866年1月29日），第二部分题为「被传讲的故事(The Story Told)」（1866年11月18日）。

W. H. Doane博士于1867年从第一部分中摘取了某部分诗句，构成流行且熟悉赞美诗的开头，《告诉我古老的故事(Tell Me the Old, Old Story)》（中译为古老福音）；来自第二部分的某些诗句则被选入赞美诗《我喜欢讲这故事(I Love to Tell the Story)》。

圣诞夜过后

2024-12-24 in , /by

路加福音1:46-55

46 马利亚说：「我心尊主为大， 47 我灵以神我的救主为乐， 48 因为他顾念他使女的卑微。从今以后，万代要称我有福， 49 那有权能的为我成就了大事，他的名为圣！ 50 他怜悯敬畏他的人，直到世世代代。 51 他用膀臂施展大能，那狂傲的人正心里妄想就被他赶散了。 52 他叫有权柄的失位，叫卑贱的升高； 53 叫饥饿的得饱美食，叫富足的空手回去。 54 他扶助了他的仆人以色列， 55 为要记念亚伯拉罕和他的后裔，施怜悯直到永远，正如从前对我们列祖所说的话。」

圣诞夜过后，平安夜的音符不断回荡耳际，圣诞树的装饰依然闪烁，树下的礼物拆了封，遗下空壳，一个夜晚的欢庆，你我得着了什么？

也许你觉得松了一口气，几个月的筹备和练习终于圆满呈现！

也许你觉得兴奋，因为你邀请的朋友来参加庆典，街头的路人收下你的传单，社区的邻居聆听你带来的圣诞佳音，你成为传福音的使者！

也许你说我感动莫名，我留下了眼泪，我知道耶稣爱我，祂为我而生！

也许你说我今年享用了圣诞大餐，和朋友欢乐聚会，又抽中大奖，超棒的夜晚！

也许你问自己，每年圣诞节见耶稣，这是第几次了？

也许你想耶稣诞生了，我再等个三十年，祂开始传讲信息，我就跟随祂的话，还不迟？

What Is Sedition and Why Be Careful With It

2024-12-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 15:1-16.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

2 Samuel 15:1-16 (NIV)
1  In the course of time, Absalom provided himself with a chariot and horses and with fifty men to run ahead of him.
2  He would get up early and stand by the side of the road leading to the city gate. Whenever anyone came with a complaint to be placed before the king for a decision, Absalom would call out to him, “What town are you from?” He would answer, “Your servant is from one of the tribes of Israel.”
3  Then Absalom would say to him, “Look, your claims are valid and proper, but there is no representative of the king to hear you.”

On verses 1-16: Here we see Absalom beginning to subtly, secretly campaign for himself to be king in place of his father David.  Absalom would get up early and stand by the road that people would take to go see his father King David.  On their way to seeing King David, they would pass by Absalom, who would greet them, ask them to share their troubles with him, and tell them that they have a valid claim but that the king was too busy to hear them.

Don’t Give Others the “Half & Half”

2024-12-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Samuel 14:21-33.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

2 Samuel 14:23-33 (NIV)
23  Then Joab went to Geshur and brought Absalom back to Jerusalem.
24  But the king said, “He must go to his own house; he must not see my face.” So Absalom went to his own house and did not see the face of the king.
25  In all Israel there was not a man so highly praised for his handsome appearance as Absalom. From the top of his head to the sole of his foot there was no blemish in him.

On verses 23-33:  After some dramatic persuasion orchestrated by Joab, King David finally agrees to bring his son Absalom back from exile.  But although Absalom is now back living in Jerusalem, King David insists that Absalom must not see his face (v24).  So Absalom lives two years in Jerusalem without seeing David’s face, on top of the 3 years he was exiled in Geshur.  That’s 5 years without seeing his dad’s face or hearing his dad’s voice. 

这一夜我坐在台下

2024-12-23 in , /by

路加福音 2:6-20

 6 他们在那里的时候，马利亚的产期到了， 7 就生了头胎的儿子，用布包起来，放在马槽里，因为客店里没有地方。

8 在伯利恒之野地里有牧羊的人，夜间按著更次看守羊群。 9 有主的使者站在他们旁边，主的荣光四面照着他们，牧羊的人就甚惧怕。 10 那天使对他们说：「不要惧怕，我报给你们大喜的信息，是关乎万民的。 11 因今天在大卫的城里，为你们生了救主，就是主基督。

这一夜我坐在台下，聆听熟悉且欢乐的颂赞歌声，望着台上幕幕穿梭变化的场景，细数近七十年来自己曾参与一次次的圣诞庆典…，我无法确定我是否有缺席过，但我相信在母亲怀中我已经听过圣诞歌声，而我父亲那时应该在圣诞舞台上忙进忙出。

寒风练歌练团练台词、课后爬上爬下建舞台、幕前台风稳健过桥段、幕后手忙脚乱跑龙套…是圣诞节难忘的滋味；马槽边的小羊、野地里的牧羊人、来自东方的博士…，只差马利亚和马槽里的洋娃娃外，好像都曾有自己扮演过的身影。圣诞庆典后的报佳音、享用长辈预备的丰盛宵夜、睡教会聊整夜…是圣诞夜又兴奋又温暖的记忆，那一夜大家谈论耶稣。

牧者寻见牧者

2024-12-22 in , /by

路加福音 2:1-20
8 在伯利恒之野地里有牧羊的人，夜间按著更次看守羊群。 9 有主的使者站在他们旁边，主的荣光四面照着他们，牧羊的人就甚惧怕。 10 那天使对他们说：「不要惧怕，我报给你们大喜的信息，是关乎万民的。 11 因今天在大卫的城里，为你们生了救主，就是主基督。 12 你们要看见一个婴孩，包著布，卧在马槽里，那就是记号了。」 13 忽然有一大队天兵，同那天使赞美神说： 14 「在至高之处荣耀归于神！在地上平安归于祂所喜悦的人！」

谁来探访耶稣？路加福音2:1-20记载，居里扭作叙利亚巡抚时，约瑟带着接近预产期的马利亚从加利利拿撒勒城去伯利恒，然后孩子在伯利恒出生了。

耶稣出生时，伯利恒野地有牧羊人看见天使显现，报给他们大喜的信息，要他们寻见「婴孩卧在马槽里」为记号；接着，一大队天兵同天使赞美神说：「在至高之处荣耀归与神！在地上平安归与祂所喜悦的人（有古卷：喜悦归与人）！」他们急忙往伯利恒去，就寻见马利亚和约瑟，又有那婴孩卧在马槽里。

伯利恒邻近耶路撒冷，当时圣殿献祭所需的牲畜，都饲养在伯利恒附近的野地里。野地里，夜间轮班看守羊群的牧羊人，肩负著照顾、保护羊群的责任，他们寻见「婴孩卧在马槽里」的记号，也听见「荣耀归与神！喜悦归与人！」的赞美。牧羊人既然看见，就把天使论这孩子的话传开了，也因所听见所看见的一切事，就归荣耀与神，赞美祂。（2:20）