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Jesus and The Father

2024-04-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:31-40.  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 5:31-34 (NIV)
31  “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.
32  There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.
33  “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.
34  Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.

On verses 31-34:  To help show the credibility of Jesus’ claim that he is the Son of God, Jesus references the court system that his listeners would be very familiar with.  According to the Jewish law, any claim that a person made in court needed to be established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16).  That is why Jesus says in verse 31, “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.”    

安息是记念神领我出为奴之地

2024-04-19 in , /by

出埃及记 20:8-11

8 「当记念安息日，守为圣日。 9 六日要劳碌做你一切的工， 10 但第七日是向耶和华你神当守的安息日。这一日你和你的儿女、仆婢、牲畜，并你城里寄居的客旅，无论何工都不可做。 11 因为六日之内，耶和华造天、地、海和其中的万物，第七日便安息，所以耶和华赐福于安息日，定为圣日。

出20:8-11记载「十诫」中第四条诫命「守安息日」，其中出20:11经文将「六日做工，第七日安息」和「神完成六日的创造，第七日歇了工」联结在一起。

以色列人经过近四十年的旷野生活，取得约旦河东之地后（申4:44-49），摩西向百姓重申神在西奈山（何烈山）与百姓立约，及其颁布的「十诫」（申5:1-22）；其中，第四条诫命「守安息日」（申5:12-15）前半段的内容没变，但后半段经文则将守安息日和神带领他们出埃及的历史联结在一起。

「你也要记念你在埃及地作过奴仆；耶和华─你神用大能的手和伸出来的膀臂将你从那里领出来。因此，耶和华─你的神吩咐你守安息日。（申5:15）」

创世记常用「亚伯拉罕的神、以撒的神、雅各的神」来提醒百姓，强调神过去在以色列人列祖历史上的带领和经历，百姓出埃及后，「我是耶和华─你的神，曾将你从埃及地为奴之家领出来（申5:6）」则成为以色列人对神最重要的认识和提醒。

Jesus and The Father

2024-04-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:19-30.  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 5:19-23 (NIV)
19  Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
20  For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.
21  For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
22  Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
23  that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

On verses 19-23:  Here Jesus describes how intricately entwined he and the Father are:
–        Jesus the Son can do nothing by himself but only does what he sees his Father doing (v19);
–        Whatever the Father does Jesus the Son also does (v19);
–        “For the Father loves the Son” (v20):  It’s a love relationship between the Father and Jesus the Son;
–        “…and shows him all he does” (v20): It’s a relationship of transparency between the Father and Jesus the Son;

安息是相信神的供应是足够的

2024-04-18 in , /by

出埃及记 16:4-5

4 耶和华对摩西说：「我要将粮食从天降给你们。百姓可以出去，每天收每天的份，我好试验他们遵不遵我的法度。 5 到第六天，他们要把所收进来的预备好了，比每天所收的多一倍。」

Exodus 16:4-5

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”(NIV)

出埃及记第16章经文记载：离开埃及行走在旷野中的以色列百姓，因饥饿而向摩西、亚伦发怨言，神于是供应鹌鹑和吗哪来满足他们的需要。

耶和华对摩西说：「我要将粮食从天降给你们。百姓可以出去，每天收每天的分，我好试验他们遵不遵我的法度。到第六天，他们要把所收进来的预备好了，比每天所收的多一倍。」（出16:4-5）

到了晚上，有鹌鹑飞来，遮满了营；早晨在营四围的地上有露水。露水上升之后，不料，野地面上有如白霜的小圆物。以色列人看见，不知道是甚么，就彼此对问说：「这是甚么呢？（原文音译为吗哪）」（出16:13-15）

摩西照着神的吩咐要求百姓遵守：第一是按著各人的饭量，每人各拿一俄梅珥（约等于2.3公升）。当时百姓照着行，有的多收、有的少收；他们用升斗衡量的时候，多收的没有剩余，少收的也不缺乏；各人按著自己的食量收取（出16:17-18，新译本）。

安息是分别为圣

2024-04-17 in , /by

马太福音12:1-8

那时，耶稣在安息日从麦地经过。他的门徒饿了，就掐起麦穗来吃。 2 法利赛人看见，就对耶稣说：「看哪，你的门徒做安息日不可做的事了。」 3 耶稣对他们说：「经上记着大卫和跟从他的人饥饿之时所做的事，你们没有念过吗？ 4 他怎么进了神的殿，吃了陈设饼？这饼不是他和跟从他的人可以吃的，唯独祭司才可以吃。 5 再者，律法上所记的，当安息日祭司在殿里犯了安息日还是没有罪，你们没有念过吗？ 6 但我告诉你们：在这里有一人比殿更大。 7 『我喜爱怜恤，不喜爱祭祀』，你们若明白这话的意思，就不将无罪的当做有罪的了。 8 因为人子是安息日的主。」

「安息日(Sabbath)」这词来自希伯来文Shabbat，有止住、停止、止息的意思，安息日是犹太历法一个星期的第七天，从星期五的日落到星期六的日落前。

有些学者推测安息日可能源自古巴比伦，来自亚喀得(Akkadian)语的「清除节(Sabattu)」。清除节指的是月圆时，亦即每月的十四或十五日。古巴比伦在每月的初七、十四、廿一和廿八、或其接近的日子（依月亮运行日程作计算）当作「不祥日」或「凶日」，在这些日子，先知、祭司、君王和医生要避免做某些事，跟华人农民历中「诸事不宜」的忌日类似。

巴比伦文化中Sabattu规定：在这日子什么都不能作，要休息，因为是「凶日」。这显然和以色列人的安息日截然不同，以色列人的安息日是立约的记号（结20:12），被称为「圣日」（出20:8，申5:6）或「圣安息日」，原文意思是「分别为圣、把…奉献给神」，是歇下工作，为欢喜敬拜神而设立的日子。

Restored to God’s Presence

2024-04-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:10-18 (but for context we’ll start at verse 9).  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 5:9-10 (NIV)
9  At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
10  and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

On verses 9-10:  In the Ten Commandments, God commanded His people to honour the Sabbath day by resting and not doing work on that day (Exodus 20:8-9).  The religious elite among the Jews would interpret this command in an extreme and overly strict way, such that they considered carrying one’s mat from one place to another on a Sabbath day to be a violation of the command to honour the Sabbath day.  By focusing on these technicalities, the religious elite missed the purpose and heart of God’s commands.  All of a sudden, a command that was meant to bring joy, refreshing and rest became a legalistic burden.

在主里面的安息

2024-04-16 in , /by

马可福音16:9  在七日的第一日清早，耶稣复活了，就先向抹大拉的马利亚显现，耶稣从她身上曾赶出七个鬼。

约翰福音20:1 七日的第一日清早，天还黑的时候，抹大拉的马利亚来到坟墓那里，看见石头从坟墓挪开了，

哥林多前书16:1-2  论到为圣徒捐钱，我从前怎样吩咐加拉太的众教会，你们也当怎样行。 2 每逢七日的第一日，各人要照自己的进项抽出来留着，免得我来的时候现凑。

使徒行传20:7   七日的第一日，我们聚会掰饼的时候，保罗因为要次日起行，就与他们讲论，直讲到半夜。

四福音记载耶稣在「七日的第一日」复活（可16:9，约20:1），也就是星期日，初代教会信徒会在当天聚集，记念耶稣复活，因此称为「主日」，当时仍采犹太历法，主日是从星期六的日落时分开始。

守主日的最早证据是林前16:1-2的经文，保罗谈到每逢七日的第一日为圣徒捐钱（奉献），徒20:7也记载七日的第一日，保罗在特罗亚与门徒聚会擘饼。主后321年，信主后的罗马皇帝君士坦丁一世颁布法令，正式把星期日定为商业假期。

Your Attitude Matters

2024-04-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:1-9.  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 5:1-3 (NIV)
1  Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.
2  Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
3  Here a great number of disabled people used to lie–the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

On verses 1-3:  John’s Gospel now shifts to Jesus in Jerusalem.   There Jesus visits the pool of Bethesda where disabled people were known to congregate.  Apparently some people believed that an angel stirred the waters of the pool of Bethesda and that the first person to enter the pool after the waters were stirred would be healed.  
 
By the way, why is verse 4 missing?  If you read the King James version of John’s Gospel, you will see verses 3b and 4 which mention this idea of an angel coming to stir the pool waters.  However, this was apparently a later addition into Scripture and has been omitted from more current versions of the Gospel of John.

为义受逼迫的人有福了！

2024-04-15 in , /by

马太福音5:10 为义受逼迫的人有福了！因为天国是他们的。

Matthew 5:10  Blessed are those who are persecuted because of righteousness, for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. (NIV)

Matthew 5:10  You’re blessed when your commitment to God provokes persecution. The persecution drives you even deeper into God’s kingdom. (MSG)

耶稣说：「为义受逼迫的人有福了！因为天国是他们的。」（太5:10）

「人若因我辱骂你们，逼迫你们，捏造各样坏话毁谤你们，你们就有福了！应当欢喜快乐，因为你们在天上的赏赐是大的。在你们以前的先知，人也是这样逼迫他们。」（太5:11-12）

接续读太5:11-12，我们才能明白「为义受逼迫」的意义，诚如使徒保罗所言：「谁能使我们与基督的爱隔绝呢？难道是患难吗？是困苦吗？是逼迫吗？是饥饿吗？是赤身露体吗？是危险吗？是刀剑吗？」（罗8:35）这是初代教会信徒所面对的逼迫与危难。跟随耶稣的使徒，一个个跟着耶稣走上十字架的道路，成为「为义受逼迫的人」。

Take Jesus at His Word

2024-04-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 4:43-54.  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 4:43-45 (NIV)
43  After the two days he left for Galilee.
44  (Now Jesus himself had pointed out that a prophet has no honor in his own country.)
45  When he arrived in Galilee, the Galileans welcomed him. They had seen all that he had done in Jerusalem at the Passover Feast, for they also had been there.
 
On verses 43-45:  After spending two days in Samaria, Jesus heads for Galilee (v43).  Why does John mention here that Jesus said “a prophet has no honor in his own country” (v44), especially if Jesus just left Samaria where many put their faith in Him (v41) and was going to Galilee where the Galileans welcomed him (v45)?  Scholars have different theories on why.  Perhaps the best explanation is that verse 44 represents a transition point in John’s gospel.  Right before verse 44, we see Jesus experiencing great success reaching Samaritans.  Right after verse 44 John describes Jesus’ ministry to his own Jewish people, and though Jesus is at first welcomed and performs great miracles, the people would eventually respond by persecuting Jesus (John 5:16) and attempting to kill him (John 5:18).