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Integrity Matters

2024-07-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 5:1-16.  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 5:1-11 (NIV)
1  Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
2  With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3  Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?

On verses 1-11:  What exactly did Ananias and Sapphira do wrong here?  Weren’t they generous in giving money to the church?  Did God strike them down simply because they kept a bit of the money for themselves?  Are we not allowed to keep anything for ourselves when we sell something?

How Situations Can Changewith Prayer and God’s Word

2024-07-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 4:23-37.  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 4:23-36 (NIV)
23  On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24  When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
25  You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
26  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.
 
On verses 24-26:  Notice how much the early church relied on two habits: prayer and studying the Scriptures.  Before the book of Acts, we see no record of the disciples searching and quoting the Scriptures themselves, but now after seeing the resurrected Jesus and after being filled with the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures become so important and alive to them. 

一句话的能力

2024-07-18 in , /by

罗马书 13:9    像那「不可奸淫，不可杀人，不可偷盗，不可贪婪」，或有别的诫命，都包在「爱人如己」这一句话之内了。

有一天我走路经过面包店的骑楼，恰好碰到我的研究生，我不经意的问她：「妳最近好吗？」打过招呼后，我们就各走各路。她来自大陆，先在德国读书，再来台湾修读双学位。她是女生，我比较不方便，也未曾关心过她的生活情形。几个月后，她完成双学位后到美国，她捎来一封信告诉我，「妳最近好吗？」那一句话温暖了她的心，安慰她思乡之苦，因为她出外读书多年，从未有人关心过她。从此以后，她在过年过节总会email问候，分享她在美国的生活，有时也寻求我的建议。

The Most Important Proof that Jesus is Alive

2024-07-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 4:13-22.  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 4:13 (NIV)
13  When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.
 
On verse 13:  Peter and John did not have any formal education, but they had spent three years with the Word, Jesus Christ.  You don’t need to have a formal education or spectacular worldly credentials to be used by God.  In the end, all you need is to have been with the Word, Jesus Christ.  The more you’ve been with the Word, Jesus Christ, who is wisdom personified, the more He gives you wisdom to live, to do relationships well, to pursue God-given dreams and to serve His people with power.

一句话也不说

2024-07-17 in , /by

创世记 24:21   那人定睛看她，一句话也不说，要晓得耶和华赐他通达的道路没有。

书6:10 约书亚吩咐百姓说：「你们不可呼喊，不可出声，连一句话也不可出你们的口，等到我吩咐你们呼喊的日子，那时才可以呼喊。」

马太福音 27:14  耶稣仍不回答，连一句话也不说，以致巡抚甚觉稀奇。

以赛亚书 53:7  祂被欺压，在受苦的时候却不开口。像羊羔被牵到宰杀之地，又像羊在剪毛的人手下无声，祂也是这样不开口。

「一句话也不说」是信心的功课，亚伯拉罕的老仆人认真等候神，约书亚和百姓倚靠祂得胜，耶稣谦卑顺服天父旨意。许多时候，我们需要一句话也不说，定睛仰望神。

管理亚伯拉罕全业最老的仆人定睛看利百加，一句话也不说，要晓得耶和华赐他通达的道路没有。（创24:21）

约书亚吩咐百姓不可呼喊，不可出声，一句话也不可出口，等到呼喊的日子。（书6:10）百姓围绕耶利哥城六日，一日一次，第七日绕城七次，他们听见角声，百姓大声呼喊，城墙塌陷，各人往前直上，将城夺取。

The One Name That Saves

2024-07-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 4:1-12.  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 4:1-4 (NIV)
1  The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.
2  They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
3  They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
4  But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

On verses 1-4:  The Sadducees were a group that did not believe in the idea of resurrection and were big critics of anyone who preached it (see for example Matthew 22:23, Mark 12:18 and Acts 23:8).  According to Acts 5:17, the high priest and all his associates were members of the Sadducees. 

祂听见我祷告，看见我眼泪，祂医治我

2024-07-16 in , /by

箴言 6:16-19  耶和华所恨恶的有六样，连他心所憎恶的共有七样， 17 就是高傲的眼，撒谎的舌，流无辜人血的手， 18 图谋恶计的心，飞跑行恶的脚， 19 吐谎言的假见证，并弟兄中布散分争的人。

彼得前书 4:7 万物的结局近了，所以你们要谨慎自守，警醒祷告。

万物的结局近了，我们当谨慎自守，儆醒祷告；定睛仰望神，舌头颂赞主，亲手做善工，保守清洁心，跟随主脚踪，为主作见证，布散信望爱。

耶和华所恨恶的有六样，连他心所憎恶的共有七样：就是高傲的眼，撒谎的舌，流无辜人血的手，图谋恶计的心，飞跑行恶的脚，吐谎言的假见证，并弟兄中布散纷争的人。（箴6:16-19）

耶稣对众人说：「你们要谨慎自守，免去一切的贪心，因为人的生命不在乎家道丰富。」（路12:15）

万物的结局近了

2024-07-15 in , /by

箴言 6:16-19  耶和华所恨恶的有六样，连他心所憎恶的共有七样， 17 就是高傲的眼，撒谎的舌，流无辜人血的手， 18 图谋恶计的心，飞跑行恶的脚， 19 吐谎言的假见证，并弟兄中布散分争的人。

彼得前书 4:7 万物的结局近了，所以你们要谨慎自守，警醒祷告。

万物的结局近了，我们当谨慎自守，儆醒祷告；定睛仰望神，舌头颂赞主，亲手做善工，保守清洁心，跟随主脚踪，为主作见证，布散信望爱。

耶和华所恨恶的有六样，连他心所憎恶的共有七样：就是高傲的眼，撒谎的舌，流无辜人血的手，图谋恶计的心，飞跑行恶的脚，吐谎言的假见证，并弟兄中布散纷争的人。（箴6:16-19）

耶稣对众人说：「你们要谨慎自守，免去一切的贪心，因为人的生命不在乎家道丰富。」（路12:15）

You’re Uniquely Blessed to Be a Blessing

2024-07-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 3:12-26.  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 3:12-16 (NIV)
12  When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
13  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
14  You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
15  You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
16  By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
 
On verses 12-16:  As Peter speaks to a Jewish audience that has just seen this crippled man healed, notice a few things:

There is Healing and Hope in Jesus’ Name

2024-07-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 3:1-11.  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 3:1 (NIV)
1  One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer–at three in the afternoon.
 
On verse 1:  At this point the early church was still comprised entirely of Jewish Christians.  Thus these early Christians would continue the habit of going to the Jewish temple to worship God.  Later on, as more and more non-Jewish (Gentile) people became Christians, the early church would need to tackle the question of whether these Gentile Christians had to follow Jewish customs like going to the temple.  In the meantime, here we see Peter and John going to the temple just like other Jews.  The traditional temple prayer times included 9am, 3pm and sunset.