Entries by

Walk By Faith, Not By Feelings

2024-08-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Acts 12:1-10.  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 12:1-3 (NIV)
1  It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
2  He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
3  When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.

On verses 1-3:  James, the brother of John and one of the original twelve disciples, is martyred for his faith, put to death with the sword by King Herod.  Seeing how the killing of a Christian leader was seemingly gaining him favour with other people in his kingdom, King Herod decides to seize Peter with plans to put him on trial and to execute Peter just like he did James.  “This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread” (v3) – in other words, on the anniversary of Jesus’ own arrest, crucifixion and death on Passover weekend, Peter was being seized and on the verge of being executed.  Peter probably imagined that this is exactly how his life was supposed to end. 

天父了解我嗎？

2024-08-09 in , /by

詩篇144:3  耶和華啊，人算甚麼，祢竟認識他！世人算甚麼，祢竟顧念他！

詩篇139:1-3 耶和華啊，祢已經鑒察我，認識我。我坐下，我起來，祢都曉得；祢從遠處知道我的意念。我行路，我躺臥，祢都細察；祢也深知我一切所行的。

三年前，天下雜誌有個親子溝通大調查，探討孩子對親子關係的認知，調查結果發現「僅15.1%孩子覺得被父母了解」。

我們稱神為天父，常用親子關係來形容我們和天父的關係，我試著將天下雜誌調查資料的「父母」改為「天父」，發現：

敏感議題不告訴天父30.2%，能自己打理天父不過問17.0%，覺得天父很了解我15.1%，天父不熟無法幫助12.8%，天父採取放任管理10.0%，其實與天父沒甚麼話題4.3%，天父忙碌無暇互動3.1%，天父知道我在敷衍2.8%，其他4.5%。

當代親子疏離關係的調查資料不能類比我們和神之間的親密關係，但也值得我們審視我們和天父間的關係，你覺得天父很了解你嗎？還是，敏感議題不告訴天父，能自己打理天父不過問，天父對我不熟無法幫助，天父採取放任管理，其實與天父沒甚麼話題，天父忙碌無暇互動，天父知道我在敷衍…

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). 

看著數字、數算數目

2024-08-08 in , /by

以賽亞書 6:9-10  祂說：「你去告訴這百姓說：『你們聽是要聽見，卻不明白；看是要看見，卻不曉得。』 10 要使這百姓心蒙脂油，耳朵發沉，眼睛昏迷，恐怕眼睛看見，耳朵聽見，心裡明白，回轉過來，便得醫治。」

2022年6月27日下午3時52分左右，我在世界即時數據網站（worldometers, https://www.worldometers.info/tw/）攫取一些即時數據：

目前世界人口總數7,956,696,381，今年出生人數68,185,135，今年死亡人數28,625,753；今年由於傳染病死亡的人數6,317,984，由癌症致死的人數3,997,092，由吸菸而造成死亡的人數2,432,949，由酗酒而造成死亡的人數1,217,242，五歲以下兒童死亡人數3,699,306，墮胎數20,796,626，自殺人數521,894。

目前世界上營養不良的人數861,751,469，肥胖的人數1,729,204,783，過度肥胖的人數812,067,281，今天死於飢餓的人數20,210。

今天全世界政府的醫療支出總額(美元) $10,597,752,569，教育支出總額$7,142,555,268，軍事支出總額$3,117,582,002。

目前世界網路用戶總數5,351,325,573，今天發出的電子郵件數187,233,853,619，今天谷歌搜索次數5,896,897,062，今天手機銷售量4,664,565。

這世代唯一的神蹟

2024-08-07 in , /by

約拿書 4:2  就禱告耶和華說：「耶和華啊，我在本國的時候，豈不是這樣說嗎？我知道你是有恩典有憐憫的神，不輕易發怒，有豐盛的慈愛，並且後悔不降所說的災，所以我急速逃往他施去。

約拿書 4:10-11  耶和華說：「這蓖麻不是你栽種的，也不是你培養的，一夜發生，一夜乾死，你尚且愛惜，11 何況這尼尼微大城，其中不能分辨左手右手的有十二萬多人，並有許多牲畜，我豈能不愛惜呢？」

神安排風浪，阻擋約拿逃往他施去躲避耶和華；約拿被人抬起，拋在海中，海的狂浪就平息了。

神安排大魚，吞了約拿，他在魚腹中三日三夜；約拿在魚腹禱告許願，神吩咐魚吐約拿在旱地。

神安排蓖麻，高過約拿，影兒遮蓋他的頭，救他脫離苦楚；發怒中的約拿因這棵蓖麻大大喜樂。

神安排蟲子，咬那蓖麻，以致枯槁；神安排東風，炎熱吹襲，日頭曝曬；約拿的頭發昏，他就為自己求死。

神安排風浪、大魚、蓖麻、蟲子、東風、日頭…，向約拿顯明祂是有恩典、有憐憫的神，不輕易發怒，有豐盛的慈愛，並且後悔不降所說的災（拿4:2）。耶穌說這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).

敬拜醫治我們的神

2024-08-06 in , /by

男女老幼都要稱頌耶穌永遠不改變的慈愛–祂在十架上流出寶血，潔淨一切信祂的人，讓我們成為祂的子民。

/耶穌愛我，我知道/

耶穌愛我，我知道，因有聖經告訴我，幼小孩童祂牧養，他們軟弱主剛強。

主耶穌愛我，主耶穌愛我，主耶穌愛我，因聖經告訴我。

耶穌愛我捨生命，將我罪惡洗乾淨，天堂恩門為我開，讓祂小孩走進來。

/破碎/

懷著虔敬的心，我們來到祢的桌前；單單依靠祢的憐憫，數算祢慈愛無限。多少次遠離，多少次的歸回，祢深知我們的軟弱，求祢施恩典。

求用破碎的身體，來擁抱我們的破碎，以傾注的寶血，來挽回我們的心，祢奇妙的救恩，我們永遠無法完全體會。求用釘痕的雙手，來纏裹我們的傷痕，將倒空的生命，來滋潤我們的乾渴，親愛的救主，願一生相隨。

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

撒母耳記上 13:1-14

掃羅登基年四十歲。做以色列王二年的時候， 2 就從以色列中揀選了三千人，二千跟隨掃羅在密抹和伯特利山，一千跟隨約拿單在便雅憫的基比亞；其餘的人，掃羅都打發各回各家去了。 3 約拿單攻擊迦巴非利士人的防營，非利士人聽見了。掃羅就在遍地吹角，意思說要使希伯來人聽見。 4 以色列眾人聽見掃羅攻擊非利士人的防營，又聽見以色列人為非利士人所憎惡，就跟隨掃羅聚集在吉甲。

望著高鐵窗外掠過的夕陽美景，內心沒有絲毫感動，只有不斷向神呼求憐憫的禱告…。剛剛出席我們預備承接研究案的開標作業，開標現場的長桌上坐著主辦單位的業務、會計、政風人員，在拆封審視投標文件和研究計畫書的當時，政風人員狐疑的冒出幾句：「奇怪！這三間學校的投標計畫書，除了投標金額不一樣外，其他內容好像都一樣？ 」標場氣氛凝結片刻，沒人答腔，開標繼續進行，我們以最低的投標金額得標，承接這個研究案。離開標場，政風人員狐疑的眼神依然留存在我腦海裡，帶上回台南的高鐵，伴隨著忐忑不安的心情，迴繞著我好幾個星期，在每次的禱告中，我求神憐憫，求神赦免。