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Jesus is the Light in Your Darkness

2024-05-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 11:1-16.  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!
 
John 11:1-4 (NIV)
1  Now a man named Lazarus was sick. He was from Bethany, the village of Mary and her sister Martha.
2  This Mary, whose brother Lazarus now lay sick, was the same one who poured perfume on the Lord and wiped his feet with her hair.
3  So the sisters sent word to Jesus, “Lord, the one you love is sick.”
4  When he heard this, Jesus said, “This sickness will not end in death. No, it is for God’s glory so that God’s Son may be glorified through it.”
 
On verses 1-4:  Once again we see Jesus’ view on sickness.  Jesus saw sickness as an opportunity for God to display His power and an opportunity for God to be glorified through how people deal with the sickness.  Likewise, when you see problems in your life, train yourself to see them with Jesus’ eyes.  See your problems not as gravestones marking your death, but as stepping stones to something greater.

撒種的比喻

2024-05-19 in , /by

馬太福音 13:3-9 / 18-23

3 他用比喻對他們講許多道理，說：「有一個撒種的出去撒種。 4 撒的時候，有落在路旁的，飛鳥來吃盡了。 5 有落在土淺石頭地上的，土既不深，發苗最快， 6 日頭出來一曬，因為沒有根，就枯乾了。 7 有落在荊棘裡的，荊棘長起來，把它擠住了。 8 又有落在好土裡的，就結實，有一百倍的，有六十倍的，有三十倍的。 9 有耳可聽的，就應當聽！」

向下紮胚根，向上冒胚芽

撒種的比喻是共觀福音書都有記載的耶穌的比喻（太13:3-9，可4:2-8，路8:4-8），也是少數幾個耶穌向門徒解釋的比喻（太13:18-23，可4:13-20，路8:11-15）。

耶穌用比喻來形容撒種的人所撒的種子就是神的道，是天國的道理。種子指的是聽道的人，它落在路旁、土淺石頭地、荊棘裡、好土裡，分別呈現不同的結局：

種子落在路旁，被人踐踏，天上的飛鳥來吃盡了；就如人聽見天國道理不明白，撒但立刻來，把撒在他心裡的道奪了去。

種子落在土淺石頭地上，土既不深，發苗最快，日頭出來一曬，因為沒有根，就枯乾了；就像人聽了道，當下歡喜領受，只因心裡沒有根，不過是暫時的，及至為道遭了患難，或是受了逼迫，立刻就跌倒了。

我的雙手是祢最美的同在

2024-05-17 in , /by

馬太福音 15:29-31

29 耶穌離開那地方，來到靠近加利利的海邊，就上山坐下。 30 有許多人到他那裡，帶著瘸子、瞎子、啞巴、有殘疾的和好些別的病人，都放在他腳前，他就治好了他們。 31 甚至眾人都稀奇，因為看見啞巴說話、殘疾的痊癒、瘸子行走、瞎子看見，他們就歸榮耀給以色列的神。

耶穌教訓拒絕耶穌的猶太人說：「…你們聽是要聽見，卻不明白；看是要看見，卻不曉得；因為這百姓油蒙了心，耳朵發沉，眼睛閉著…」（太13:14-15）

但是，祂對跟隨耶穌的門徒說：「但你們的眼睛是有福的，因為看見了；你們的耳朵也是有福的，因為聽見了。…」（太13:16-17）

耶穌來到靠近加利利的海邊，有許多人到祂那裡，帶著瘸子、瞎子、啞巴、有殘疾的，和好些別的病人，都放在祂腳前；祂就治好了他們。甚至眾人都希奇；因為看見啞巴說話，殘疾的痊癒，瘸子行走，瞎子看見，他們就歸榮耀給以色列的神。（太15:29-31）

在這邪惡、混亂的世代裡，神依舊掌權，祂用「那雙看不見的手」撫慰孤兒，奇異的恩典也臨到我們生活周邊的身障者：

看不見的視障者藉著摸索、觸摸來經歷神，他們閉著眼睛唱出「看不見的看見，看見所看不見」詩歌讚美神。

Jesus’ View of Scripture + Let Your Actions Speak For You

2024-05-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:31-42.  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!
 
John 10:31-36 (NIV)
31  Again the Jews picked up stones to stone him,
32  but Jesus said to them, “I have shown you many great miracles from the Father. For which of these do you stone me?”
33  “We are not stoning you for any of these,” replied the Jews, “but for blasphemy, because you, a mere man, claim to be God.”
34  Jesus answered them, “Is it not written in your Law, ‘I have said you are gods’?
35  If he called them ‘gods,’ to whom the word of God came–and the Scripture cannot be broken–
36  what about the one whom the Father set apart as his very own and sent into the world? Why then do you accuse me of blasphemy because I said, ‘I am God’s Son’?
 
On verses 31-36:  When Jesus questions his opponents as to why they are trying to stone him, his opponents explain that they are stoning Jesus for blasphemy because he claims to be God.  Jesus’ response is intriguing.  First he quotes Psalm 82:6 and shows that in certain situations the Scriptures describe people as “ ‘gods’…sons of the Most High.”  In the case of Psalm 82:6 specifically, human judges were described as “gods” in that they possessed the power of life or death over others. 

我的燈需要油

2024-05-16 in , /by

馬太福音 25:1-13

「那時，天國好比十個童女拿著燈出去迎接新郎。 2 其中有五個是愚拙的，五個是聰明的。 3 愚拙的拿著燈，卻不預備油； 4 聰明的拿著燈，又預備油在器皿裡。 5 新郎遲延的時候，她們都打盹睡著了。 6 半夜有人喊著說：『新郎來了，你們出來迎接他！』 7 那些童女就都起來收拾燈。 8 愚拙的對聰明的說：『請分點油給我們，因為我們的燈要滅了。』 9 聰明的回答說：『恐怕不夠你我用的，不如你們自己到賣油的那裡去買吧。』

耶穌跟門徒論及祂的再來與世界的末了之後，接著用十個童女的比喻勉勵門徒要「儆醒預備」（太25:1-13），用按才幹受責任的比喻教導門徒要「忠心盡責」（太25:14-30），用綿羊與山羊的比喻提醒門徒要「愛心服事」（太25:31-46）。

十個童女比喻的背景緣自古代猶太人的婚禮習俗。婚禮當天，新郎由伴郎陪同將新娘從娘家護送到新郎的家，親朋好友沿途加入行列，走遍全村接受人的祝賀；一行人可能走到天黑夜晚，沒火把看不清楚路，需要有童女去迎接新郎，為他點燈引路。童女帶領新郎入屋坐席後，就會關上門，開始慶祝的婚筵。

無花果、葡萄和橄欖是以色列人的三大生活必需品，橄欖樹的果實可壓榨出橄欖油，將橄欖放在臼中搗出來的「清橄欖油」是最好的油，一般當作點燈的燃料。舊約會幕聖所中金燈臺的燈要時常點著，使聖所內常有亮光；祭司要輪班將清橄欖油加入燈盞裡，使燈火終日不滅（出27:20-21）。

Safe in Jesus’ Hand

2024-05-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:22-30.  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!
 
John 10:22-23 (NIV)
22  Then came the Feast of Dedication at Jerusalem. It was winter,
23  and Jesus was in the temple area walking in Solomon’s Colonnade.
 
On verses 22-23:  The Feast of Dedication was a relatively new festival that the Jews first began celebrating in 164 B.C. to commemorate the reconstruction and rededication of the temple in Jerusalem by Judas Maccabeus in 165 B.C. after it was destroyed by the Syrian ruler Antiochus Epiphanes in 168 B.C.  This Feast of Dedication involves a celebration of lights and is now more commonly known as Hanukkah, a festival that Jewish people continue to celebrate to this day.  During Jesus’ time on earth, whenever the Feast of Dedication was celebrated, there was an undercurrent of hope among the Jews that the Messiah would arrive at the temple and begin establishing Israel as an independent nation.

愈忙愈要找時間…

2024-05-15 in , /by

馬太福音 11:28-30

28 凡勞苦擔重擔的人，可以到我這裡來，我就使你們得安息。 29 我心裡柔和謙卑，你們當負我的軛，學我的樣式，這樣你們心裡就必得享安息。 30 因為我的軛是容易的，我的擔子是輕省的。」

網路上有個圖片描繪星期一到星期日英文字的翻譯：星期一Monday（忙day）忙得要死，星期二Tuesday（求死day）忙得想死，星期三Wednesday（未死day）還沒有忙死，星期四Thursday（受死day）行將受死；但是，轉機來了，星期五Friday（福來day）捱完後就可以放假；接下來，一星期最安逸瀟灑的一天，就是星期六Saturday（灑脫day）；過完星期六，再面對星期日Sunday（傷day），又將繼續下一個「忙」的星期。

有篇文章這樣描述：「忙」這個字拆開就是「心亡」，如果我們對某些事、某些人的心已經死了，就會用「忙」來當作藉口。有人會因為忙，而疏離朋友；因為忙，而冷淡親人；因為忙，而忘了自己的健康。這代表我們對朋友、親人、以及自己的心已經死了，我們用「忙」來拒絕一切。

God’s Got Other Sheep for You to Reach

2024-05-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:11-21.  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!
 
John 10:11-13 (NIV)
11  “I am the good shepherd. The good shepherd lays down his life for the sheep.
12  The hired hand is not the shepherd who owns the sheep. So when he sees the wolf coming, he abandons the sheep and runs away. Then the wolf attacks the flock and scatters it.
13  The man runs away because he is a hired hand and cares nothing for the sheep.

On verses 11-13:  Here Jesus calls himself the good shepherd, the one who loves the sheep so much that he would lay down his life for the sheep.  This is exactly what Jesus would do for us when he would die on the cross for our sins. 
 
Who is the “hired hand” that verses 12-13 are referring to? 

恩典中的確據

2024-05-14 in , /by

馬太福音 6:25-34

25 所以我告訴你們，不要為生命憂慮吃什麼喝什麼，為身體憂慮穿什麼。生命不勝於飲食嗎？身體不勝於衣裳嗎？ 26 你們看那天上的飛鳥，也不種也不收，也不積蓄在倉裡，你們的天父尚且養活牠，你們不比飛鳥貴重得多嗎？ 27 你們哪一個能用思慮使壽數多加一刻呢？ 28 何必為衣裳憂慮呢？你想野地裡的百合花怎麼長起來，它也不勞苦，也不紡線， 29 然而我告訴你們：就是所羅門極榮華的時候，他所穿戴的還不如這花一朵呢！

先求神的國和神的義，我們的內裡需要必得滿足，外在生命將彰顯神的榮美。

…不要為生命憂慮吃甚麼，喝甚麼；為身體憂慮穿甚麼。

生命不勝於飲食嗎？身體不勝於衣裳嗎？你們看那天上的飛鳥，也不種，也不收，也不積蓄在倉裡，你們的天父尚且養活牠。你們不比飛鳥貴重得多嗎？你們哪一個能用思慮使壽數多加一刻呢？

何必為衣裳憂慮呢？你想野地裡的百合花怎麼長起來；它也不勞苦，也不紡線。然而我告訴你們，就是所羅門極榮華的時候，他所穿戴的，還不如這花一朵呢！你們這小信的人哪！野地裡的草今天還在，明天就丟在爐裡，神還給它這樣的妝飾，何況你們呢！

How Jesus Leads You

2024-05-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 10:1-10.  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!
 
John 10:1-5 (NIV)
1  “I tell you the truth, the man who does not enter the sheep pen by the gate, but climbs in by some other way, is a thief and a robber.
2  The man who enters by the gate is the shepherd of his sheep.
3  The watchman opens the gate for him, and the sheep listen to his voice. He calls his own sheep by name and leads them out.
4  When he has brought out all his own, he goes on ahead of them, and his sheep follow him because they know his voice.
5  But they will never follow a stranger; in fact, they will run away from him because they do not recognize a stranger’s voice.”
 
On verses 1-5:  Back during Jesus’ time on earth, shepherds would often bring their respective flocks together to be placed in a communal pen for the night.  One shepherd would be assigned to be the watchman to watch the flocks at night while the other shepherds slept.  In the morning, the shepherds would return to the communal pen to collect their sheep.  But how would they separate their own sheep from the rest of the sheep in the communal pen?