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愛在風浪中

2024-03-04 in , /by

馬太福音 14:22-33

22 耶穌隨即催門徒上船，先渡到那邊去，等他叫眾人散開。 23 散了眾人以後，他就獨自上山去禱告。到了晚上，只有他一人在那裡。 24 那時船在海中，因風不順，被浪搖撼。 25 夜裡四更天，耶穌在海面上走，往門徒那裡去。 26 門徒看見他在海面上走，就驚慌了，說：「是個鬼怪！」便害怕，喊叫起來。 27 耶穌連忙對他們說：「你們放心！是我，不要怕！」 28 彼得說：「主，如果是你，請叫我從水面上走到你那裡去。」 29 耶穌說：「你來吧！」彼得就從船上下去，在水面上走，要到耶穌那裡去。

愛在風浪中：因著愛，祂伸手拉住彼得，對他說：你這小信的人哪！為什麼疑惑呢？（太14:22-33，可6:45-52，約6:15-21）

福音書記載：耶穌和門徒夜裡前往外邦人之地格拉森，坐船遇見風浪，祂斥責狂風大浪，風浪就止住，平靜了。（太8:23-27，可4:35-41，路8:22-25）

前次，耶穌和門徒一同在被風浪搖撼的船中，這次，祂從海面上接近因風不順，被浪搖撼，搖櫓甚苦的門徒（太14:23-24，可6:48），祂邀請彼得走在水面上，進入風浪中（太14:28-31）。

It’s a Matter of Your Heart, Not Your Circumstances

2024-03-04 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 9:1-21.  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!

Revelation 9:1-11 (NIV) 
1  The fifth angel sounded his trumpet, and I saw a star that had fallen from the sky to the earth. The star was given the key to the shaft of the Abyss. 
2  When he opened the Abyss, smoke rose from it like the smoke from a gigantic furnace. The sun and sky were darkened by the smoke from the Abyss. 
3  And out of the smoke locusts came down upon the earth and were given power like that of scorpions of the earth. 

On verses 1-11:  If there was any passage in the Bible that resembled a science fiction movie, it’s these 11 verses.  What is going on here? The fifth angel sounds his trumpet, which then triggers “a star that had fallen from the sky” to appear. Apparently this star is not an actual star from space, but a fallen angel who is referred to as “he” in verse 2.  This fallen star (or fallen angel) is given the key to “the Abyss”.  While “the Abyss” sounds like some kind of spacecraft, it is not clear what exactly the Abyss is.  We do know that when the fallen angel opens the Abyss, enough smoke comes out of the Abyss to darken the sun and sky.  After that, the most powerful and scariest looking locusts come out of the Abyss.

愛在稅關上

2024-03-03 in , /by

馬太福音 9:9-13

9 耶穌從那裡往前走，看見一個人，名叫馬太，坐在稅關上，就對他說：「你跟從我來！」他就起來跟從了耶穌。

10 耶穌在屋裡坐席的時候，有好些稅吏和罪人來，與耶穌和他的門徒一同坐席。 11 法利賽人看見，就對耶穌的門徒說：「你們的先生為什麼和稅吏並罪人一同吃飯呢？」 12 耶穌聽見就說：「康健的人用不著醫生，有病的人才用得著。 13 經上說：『我喜愛憐恤，不喜愛祭祀』，這句話的意思你們且去揣摩；我來本不是召義人，乃是召罪人。」

愛在稅關上：因著愛，祂呼召馬太（利未），和好些稅吏並罪人一同坐席吃飯。（太9:9-13，可2:13-17，路5:27-32）

使徒馬太是加利利人，信主前是迦百農城的稅吏，他熟悉稅務相關的貿易通商、財務簿記，可能善於速記，熟悉通用的亞蘭文與希臘文，是耶穌門徒中少數受過教育且有學問的，之後他寫下文筆流暢的《馬太福音》，記載他親眼所見耶穌的行跡。

羅馬帝國當時的稅吏是被殖民利用專為徵收稅款（關稅、路費）的猶太人，他們常與官員狼狽為奸，訛詐牟利以飽私囊；在猶太人的眼中，稅吏被視為賣國賊（效忠羅馬皇帝）、叛教徒（與外邦人來往），在宗教上他們是不潔的，與強盜、娼妓、罪犯同列。

You Can Never Win When You Fight God

2024-03-03 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 8:1-13. 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!

Revelation 8:1-13 (NIV)
1 When he opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour.
2 And I saw the seven angels who stand before God, and to them were given seven trumpets.
3 Another angel, who had a golden censer, came and stood at the altar. He was given much incense to offer, with the prayers of all the saints, on the golden altar before the throne.
4 The smoke of the incense, together with the prayers of the saints, went up before God from the angel’s hand.

On verses 1-13: When the Lamb opens the seventh seal, there is about a half hour of silence. Then heaven launches a series of attacks on the earth. First an angel takes a gold censer and fills it with fire from an altar where incense (representing the prayers of God’s people) is burning. That angel hurls the gold censer onto the earth. This causes peals of thunder, rumblings, lightning and an earthquake to occur. After that comes the next series of attacks, where one by one seven angels each with a trumpet in hand blow their trumpet to call forth a specific attack from heaven on the earth. Chapter 7 describes what happens when the first four angels with trumpets blow their horns.

The Power of Jesus’ Blood

2024-03-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 7:1-17.  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!

Revelation 7:1 (NIV) 
1  After this I saw four angels standing at the four corners of the earth, holding back the four winds of the earth to prevent any wind from blowing on the land or on the sea or on any tree.

On verse 1:  After the sixth seal is broken, John sees four angels holding back “the four winds of the earth” (v1), effectively stopping any wind from blowing on the earth.  According to some scientists, if there was no more wind on the earth, much of the earth would become uninhabitable, temperatures on the earth would become either extremely hot or extremely cold, mass migration would lead to coastal regions being heavily populated, marine life would die, widespread famine would occur and many people would not be able to survive.

愛在長大痲瘋者身上

2024-03-01 in , /by

馬太福音 8:1-4

耶穌下了山，有許多人跟著他。 2 有一個長大痲瘋的來拜他，說：「主若肯，必能叫我潔淨了。」 3 耶穌伸手摸他，說：「我肯，你潔淨了吧！」他的大痲瘋立刻就潔淨了。 4 耶穌對他說：「你切不可告訴人，只要去把身體給祭司察看，獻上摩西所吩咐的禮物，對眾人做證據。」

愛在長大痲瘋者身上：因著愛，祂肯，伸手摸，他立刻得潔淨。（太8:1-4，可1:40-45，路5:12-15）

長大痲瘋者得醫治被記載在馬太、馬可和路加三卷福音書，描述著同樣的場景：長大痲瘋的（拜祂、向祂跪下、俯伏在地求祂）說：「主若肯，必能叫我潔淨了。」耶穌伸手摸他，說：「我肯（願意），你潔淨了吧！」他的大痲瘋即時離開他，立刻就潔淨了。

「主若肯」：長大痲瘋者相信耶穌的權柄、能力，相信自己能被潔淨、能被醫治。

「伸手摸他」：耶穌的手觸摸潰爛疼痛的皮膚，祂的愛是真實的觸摸傷痛，撫慰傷痛，進入傷痛，且醫治傷痛。

愛在敘加雅各井邊

2024-02-29 in , /by

約翰福音 4:1-30

主知道法利賽人聽見祂收門徒施洗比約翰還多 2 （其實不是耶穌親自施洗，乃是他的門徒施洗）， 3 祂就離了猶太，又往加利利去。 4 必須經過撒馬利亞， 5 於是到了撒馬利亞的一座城，名叫敘加，靠近雅各給他兒子約瑟的那塊地。 6 在那裡有雅各井。耶穌因走路困乏，就坐在井旁。那時約有午正。 7 有一個撒馬利亞的婦人來打水，耶穌對她說：「請你給我水喝。」 8 那時門徒進城買食物去了。 9 撒馬利亞的婦人對祂說：「你既是猶太人，怎麼向我一個撒馬利亞婦人要水喝呢？」

愛在敘加雅各井邊：因著愛，祂教導生命飢渴和靈裡徬徨的撒瑪利亞婦人：領受活水，用心靈和誠實（靠著聖靈按著真理）敬拜神。（約4:1-30）

撒瑪利亞是北國以色列的首都，主前722年北國亡於亞述，它成為亞述國的一個省份，居住於該地區者都被稱為「撒瑪利亞人」（Samaritans，希伯來文意為守護者、妥拉的守護者）。當時亞述王擄掠北國以色列，只留下最貧窮和最沒有受教育的以色列人，後來，他們與從各處湧進這地建立家園的異族人通婚，便產生了這一群撒瑪利亞人，散居在猶太與加利利間。

Hang Onto Jesus No Matter What

2024-02-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 6:1-17.  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!

Revelation 6:1-2 (NIV)
1  I watched as the Lamb opened the first of the seven seals. Then I heard one of the four living creatures say in a voice like thunder, “Come!”
2  I looked, and there before me was a white horse! Its rider held a bow, and he was given a crown, and he rode out as a conqueror bent on conquest.

On verses 1-2:  Jesus, referred to here as the Lamb, opens the first of the seven seals, which causes a rider on a white horse to appear.  This rider on a white horse is wearing a crown and holding a bow.  While Jesus Himself will later appear on a white horse (Revelation 19:11), according to many scholars, this particular rider on this particular white horse is not Jesus but the anti-Christ, a powerful figure bent on conquering everything he sees.

愛在夜裡的問答

2024-02-28 in , /by

約翰福音3:1-21

有一個法利賽人，名叫尼哥迪慕，是猶太人的官。 2 這人夜裡來見耶穌，說：「拉比，我們知道祢是由神那裡來做師傅的，因為祢所行的神蹟，若沒有神同在，無人能行。」 3 耶穌回答說：「我實實在在地告訴你：人若不重生，就不能見神的國。」 4 尼哥迪慕說：「人已經老了，如何能重生呢？豈能再進母腹生出來嗎？」 5 耶穌說：「我實實在在地告訴你：人若不是從水和聖靈生的，就不能進神的國。 6 從肉身生的就是肉身，從靈生的就是靈。 7 我說你們必須重生，你不要以為稀奇。 8 風隨著意思吹，你聽見風的響聲，卻不曉得從哪裡來，往哪裡去。凡從聖靈生的，也是如此。」

愛在夜裡的問答：因著愛，祂在夜裡教導擁有正統宗教和社會地位的法利賽人尼哥底母：要重生、從水和聖靈生、神愛世人。（約3:1-21）

耶穌晚上也要加班！祂點醒神的兒女必須脫離宗教的窠臼和世界的權勢，生命需要從水和聖靈更新（結36:25-27），在主裏成為新造的人（林後5:17）；我們若是靠聖靈得生，就當靠聖靈行事（加5:25），成為真正順命的兒女（彼前1:14）。

The Only Way to Know the Will of God

2024-02-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 5:1-14.  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!

Revelation 5:1-4 (NIV) 
1  Then I saw in the right hand of him who sat on the throne a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals. 
2  And I saw a mighty angel proclaiming in a loud voice, “Who is worthy to break the seals and open the scroll?” 
3  But no one in heaven or on earth or under the earth could open the scroll or even look inside it. 
4  I wept and wept because no one was found who was worthy to open the scroll or look inside. 

On verses 1-4:  John’s vision of heaven continues as he sees in the right hand of God a scroll with writing on both sides and sealed with seven seals (v1).  At first no one is found worthy to open the scroll or even look inside it (v2-3).  This causes John to weep and weep (v4).