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Why Do You Follow Jesus?

2024-04-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 6:60-71.  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 6:60-71 (NIV)
60  On hearing it, many of his disciples said, “This is a hard teaching. Who can accept it?”
61  Aware that his disciples were grumbling about this, Jesus said to them, “Does this offend you?
62  What if you see the Son of Man ascend to where he was before!
63  The Spirit gives life; the flesh counts for nothing. The words I have spoken to you are spirit and they are life.

On verses 60-71:  Upon hearing Jesus talk about the importance of eating his flesh and drinking his blood (symbolic for believing in Jesus) (v51-58), many no longer followed Jesus (v66), leaving only a remnant such as Jesus’ 12 disciples (v67-69), although Judas would also later leave Jesus (v70-71).
What can we learn from this?  When you read the whole chapter of John 6, you will notice that people followed Jesus for different reasons. A great crowd followed Jesus at first because they saw him do miraculous signs for the sick (v2). People from that same crowd continued to follow Jesus because they had their fill of food that Jesus miraculously provided and were hoping to get more (v24-26). But then on hearing more of what Jesus had to say, many would desert Jesus (v66) leaving only a remnant who would continue to follow him. 

五餅二魚

2024-04-28 in , /by

馬太福音14:13-21 耶穌聽見了，就上船從那裡獨自退到野地裡去。眾人聽見，就從各城裡步行跟隨他。 14 耶穌出來，見有許多的人，就憐憫他們，治好了他們的病人。 15 天將晚的時候，門徒進前來，說：「這是野地，時候已經過了，請叫眾人散開，他們好往村子裡去自己買吃的。」 16 耶穌說：「不用他們去，你們給他們吃吧！」 17 門徒說：「我們這裡只有五個餅、兩條魚。」 18 耶穌說：「拿過來給我。」 19 於是吩咐眾人坐在草地上，就拿著這五個餅、兩條魚，望著天祝福，掰開餅遞給門徒，門徒又遞給眾人。 20 他們都吃，並且吃飽了。把剩下的零碎收拾起來，裝滿了十二個籃子。 21 吃的人，除了婦女孩子，約有五千。

你們給他們喫罷！

在我們生命的成長中，你曾否面對困難挑戰太大，覺得我的能力太小…

在我們服事的過程中，你曾否經歷人們需要太多，覺得我的恩賜太少…

耶穌教導我們，祂用五個大麥餅、兩條魚可以餵飽五千人，剩餘零碎還裝滿了十二個籃子。（太14:13-21，可6:30-44，路9:10-17，約6:1-14）

耶穌試驗門徒：當人們的需要遠超過自己的能力時？

耶穌舉目看見許多人來，就對腓力（伯賽大人）說：「我們從哪裡買餅叫這些人吃呢？」（…他自己原知道要怎樣行。約6:5-6）

With Jesus there is real life

2024-04-26 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 6:52-59.  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 6:52-59 (NIV)
52  Then the Jews began to argue sharply among themselves, “How can this man give us his flesh to eat?”
53  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, unless you eat the flesh of the Son of Man and drink his blood, you have no life in you.
54  Whoever eats my flesh and drinks my blood has eternal life, and I will raise him up at the last day.

On verse 52-59:  When taken out of context these words from Jesus may sound like Jesus is promoting cannibalism or a vampire culture.  But read these words in context and it is clear that when Jesus talks about eating his flesh and drinking his blood, Jesus is not talking about actually physically his flesh and drinking his blood; rather Jesus is talking about believing in him.  As Jesus says in verse 47, “I tell you the truth, he who believes has everlasting life.”  Whenever you come across a verse or a passage in the Bible that you find hard to understand, always consider the context (i.e. what is written immediately before it and after it as well as the surrounding background behind it) so that you can better understand its intended meaning.

世上的光

2024-04-26 in , /by

馬太福音5:14-16 你們是世上的光。城造在山上，是不能隱藏的。 15 人點燈，不放在斗底下，是放在燈臺上，就照亮一家的人。 16 你們的光也當這樣照在人前，叫他們看見你們的好行為，便將榮耀歸給你們在天上的父。

哥林多前書6:20  因為你們是重價買來的，所以要在你們的身子上榮耀神。

城造在山上、燈立在燈臺

耶穌說：「你們是世上的光。城造在山上是不能隱藏的。人點燈，不放在斗底下，是放在燈臺上，就照亮一家的人。你們的光也當這樣照在人前，叫他們看見你們的好行為，便將榮耀歸給你們在天上的父。」（太5:14-16）

前幾天舉辦一個研討會，來了許多廠商，會前彼此遞名片相互介紹。一位廠商看了我名片上的福音字句，特別問我：「你是基督徒？」我很高興遇見同信的弟兄，我反問：「你也是基督徒？」

Don’t Worry About What You Can’t Control

2024-04-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 6:41-51.  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 6:41-43 (NIV)
41  At this the Jews began to grumble about him because he said, “I am the bread that came down from heaven.”
42  They said, “Is this not Jesus, the son of Joseph, whose father and mother we know? How can he now say, ‘I came down from heaven’?”
43  “Stop grumbling among yourselves,” Jesus answered.
 
On verses 41-43:  Even after God had given the Israelites in Moses’ time bread from heaven in the form of manna, they grumbled (Exodus 17:3).  When God gave the Israelites the true bread from heaven which is Jesus, what did they do? They grumbled as well (v41, 43).  Now if God can’t please everyone, what makes you think you can please everyone?  Don’t live for the approval of others.  Rather, live to please God. 

不要再犯罪

2024-04-25 in , /by

約翰福音5:1-14  這事以後，到了猶太人的一個節期，耶穌就上耶路撒冷去。2 在耶路撒冷，靠近羊門有一個池子，希伯來話叫做畢士大，旁邊有五個廊子， 3 裡面躺著瞎眼的、瘸腿的、血氣枯乾的許多病人。 5 在那裡有一個人，病了三十八年。 6 耶穌看見他躺著，知道他病了許久，就問他說：「你要痊癒嗎？」 7 病人回答說：「先生，水動的時候，沒有人把我放在池子裡，我正去的時候，就有別人比我先下去。」 8 耶穌對他說：「起來，拿你的褥子走吧！」 9 那人立刻痊癒，就拿起褥子來走了。

我們的神有憐憫，有恩典，不輕易發怒，且有豐盛的慈愛（詩103:8）；在耶穌裡，我們因信稱義，罪得赦免，在我們裡面充充滿滿地有恩典有真理（約1:14）。

在基督完全且豐盛的愛中，我們習慣於呼求得憐憫，認罪得赦免，而忽略了恩典要帶出的「改變」；耶穌醫治病了三十八年的病人（約5:1-14），提醒他：「你已經痊癒了，不要再犯罪…」（約5:14），耶穌赦免行淫被拿的婦人（約8:3-11），也提醒她：「…去吧，從此不要再犯罪了！」（約8:11）

新舊融合作天國的門徒

2024-04-24 in , /by

馬太福音13:51-52  耶穌說：「這一切的話你們都明白了嗎？」他們說：「我們明白了。」 52 他說：「凡文士受教做天國的門徒，就像一個家主從他庫裡拿出新舊的東西來。」

馬可福音12:38-40  耶穌在教訓之間說：「你們要防備文士。他們好穿長衣遊行，喜愛人在街市上問他們的安， 39 又喜愛會堂裡的高位、筵席上的首座。 40 他們侵吞寡婦的家產，假意作很長的禱告。這些人要受更重的刑罰！」

耶穌時代的文士又稱為律法師（太22:35，路10:25，路11:45-52，路14:3），他們是舊約的聖經學者、翻譯人和教師，但卻又是耶穌的大敵人，耶穌指摘他們的傳統令神的道無法彰顯（太23章，可12:38-40）。

耶穌用文士受教來比喻熟知舊約律法的人，若他們能接受耶穌傳講的天國福音，且能依循遵行而成為門徒，就好像從庫裡（原文是寶庫、財寶盒，用來收存財物和珍寶的地方）拿出新、舊寶物一樣，同時融合舊約的思想和耶穌的教訓。

律法師曾質問耶穌最大的誡命？耶穌回答：「你要盡心、盡性、盡意、盡力愛主你的神。」（可12:30，路10:27，太22:37）比較舊約律法的最大誡命（申6:4-9），耶穌增加了「盡意」愛神一項，意(mind)一字在原文可詮釋為心思、理解、頭腦、悟性。耶穌回應律法師的挑戰，提醒他們要盡意（盡智），用心思和悟性明白神的心意，才能完全行出舊約律法所規範的「愛主你的神」。

Seeing Is Not Always Believing

2024-04-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 6:32-40.  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 6:32-33 (NIV)
32  Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, it is not Moses who has given you the bread from heaven, but it is my Father who gives you the true bread from heaven.
33  For the bread of God is he who comes down from heaven and gives life to the world.”
 
On verses 32-33:  Keep in mind the context:  Just the day before, Jesus has fed the 5,000 with five loaves of bread (v5-15).  So now the crowd continues to follow Jesus, hoping to get another free lunch from him.  They ask Jesus for another miraculous sign and talk about how their ancestors got to eat bread from heaven in the desert (v30-31).  In this context, Jesus makes two important clarifications:

–  First, it wasn’t Moses who gave the Israelites bread from heaven.  It was God (v32).  Moses was a conduit for that bread, but every good and perfect gift is sourced in your heavenly Father (James 1:17).

隨時享有安息日的安息

2024-04-23 in , /by

希伯來書 3:7-11 聖靈有話說：「你們今日若聽祂的話， 8 就不可硬著心，像在曠野惹祂發怒、試探祂的時候一樣。 9 在那裡，你們的祖宗試我探我，並且觀看我的作為有四十年之久。 10 所以，我厭煩那世代的人，說：『他們心裡常常迷糊，竟不曉得我的作為。』 11 我就在怒中起誓說：『他們斷不可進入我的安息。』」

猶太曆法的安息日是一週的第七天（一週的第一天是星期日），亦即星期六，而猶太日曆的一天是從日落算起，並非從午夜開始，因此，安息日是從星期五的日落到星期六的日落前。

值得思考的是，與神聯結、分別為聖是僅限在一週中的一天嗎？若「安息日」僅是代表屬神的日子，那一週其餘的六天，我們的歸屬在哪裡？

希伯來書提及聖靈有話說：「…你們的祖宗試我探我，並且觀看我的作為有四十年之久。…我就在怒中起誓說：『他們斷不可進入我的安息』（來3:7-11）。」這裡的「安息」在希臘原文為Katapausis，是指身體上的「休息」；七十士譯本使用這字，說明以色列人經過430年流亡生活，舊的一代屍首倒在曠野，但是新生一代終於回到應許之地（迦南地）永久安居，即「（定居）安息」或「（在某地）安息」之意（詩95:7-11，來3:7-11）。

Don’t Just Focus on the Immediate. Think About Eternity.

2024-04-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 6:16-31.  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 6:16-21 (NIV)
16  When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake,
17  where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them.
18  A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough.
19  When they had rowed three or three and a half miles, they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were terrified.
20  But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.”
21  Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

On verses 16-21:  Notice that fear kept the disciples from letting Jesus into the boat, but the moment they heard Jesus’ words, their fear subsided and they were willing to let him aboard.  Like the disciples, don’t be afraid of Jesus, but be “willing to take him into the boat” (v21) with you.