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飢渴慕義的人有福了！

2024-04-10 in , /by

馬太福音5:6 飢渴慕義的人有福了！因為他們必得飽足。

Matthew 5:6  Blessed are those who hunger and thirst for righteousness, for they will be filled.(NIV)

Matthew 5:6  You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat. (MSG)

耶穌說：「飢渴慕義的人有福了！因為他們必得飽足（餵養、內在被滿足）。」（太5:6）「飢渴慕義的人」是渴望實行神旨意的人，渴望個人稱義、個人行為合於義，並讓神的公義得以彰顯。神給這種人的賞賜就是「滿足他們的渴望」。

耶穌在加利利遇見伯賽大人腓力，對他說：「來跟從我吧。」接著，腓力找到拿但業，帶他見耶穌，耶穌指著他說：「看哪，這是個真以色列人，他心裡是沒有詭詐的。…腓力還沒有招呼你，你在無花果樹底下，我就看見你了。…你將要看見比這更大的事…。」（約1:43-51）

Let Jesus Get the Glory

2024-04-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 3:22-36.  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 3:22-30 (NIV)
22  After this, Jesus and his disciples went out into the Judean countryside, where he spent some time with them, and baptized.
23  Now John also was baptizing at Aenon near Salim, because there was plenty of water, and people were constantly coming to be baptized.

On verses 22-30:  I absolutely love and admire the humility of John the Baptist.  Instead of envying Jesus because Jesus was baptizing more people than he was and becoming more popular than he was (v26), John the Baptist displays incredible humility.  First, John says, “A man can only receive what has been given to him from heaven.” (v27)  In other words, instead of worrying about what he didn’t have, John the Baptist simply focused on what he did have because of God’s grace and was thankful for it.  Likewise, may you not worry and fret about what you don’t have but be thankful for what you do have.

溫柔的人有福了！

2024-04-09 in , /by

馬太福音5:5 溫柔的人有福了！因為他們必承受地土。

Matthew 5:5  Blessed are the meek, for they will inherit the earth.(NIV)

Matthew 5:5  You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought. (MSG)

神記念與亞伯拉罕所立的約，向以撒所起的誓，向雅各定為律例，向以色列定為永遠的約，說：我必將迦南地賜給你，作你產業的分（代上16:15-18，詩105:8-11）。以色列人進入迦南地，他們按家室拈鬮，承受那地；人多的，把產業多分給他們；人少的，把產業少分給他們（民33:54）。

地土是神應許以色列人的產業，天降甘露，地土必有出產，百姓因而蒙福（該1:11，亞8:12）。

我們所處的環境充滿競爭和比較，大衛在詩篇37篇提醒我們：不要為作惡的心懷不平，也不要向那行不義的生出嫉妒（詩37:1）；…等候耶和華的必承受地土（詩37:9），

From Death to Life

2024-04-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 3:9-21.  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 3:9-13 (NIV)
9  “How can this be?” Nicodemus asked.
10  “You are Israel’s teacher,” said Jesus, “and do you not understand these things?
11  I tell you the truth, we speak of what we know, and we testify to what we have seen, but still you people do not accept our testimony.
12  I have spoken to you of earthly things and you do not believe; how then will you believe if I speak of heavenly things?
13  No one has ever gone into heaven except the one who came from heaven–the Son of Man.
 
On verses 9-13:  Nicodemus was known as “the teacher of Israel” (v10 ESV, NKJV).  Yet here Israel’s teacher is unable to understand what Jesus, the Son of Man, was saying.  It shows that Jesus, the Son of God and Son of Man, had wisdom and experience that Israel’s greatest teachers could not match.  Teachers like Nicodemus were mere men reaching for heaven, whereas Jesus is the one who “came from heaven” to reach people on earth.

What Does It Mean To Be “Born Again”?

2024-04-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 3:1-8.  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 3:1-2 (NIV)
1  Now there was a man of the Pharisees named Nicodemus, a member of the Jewish ruling council.
2  He came to Jesus at night and said, “Rabbi, we know you are a teacher who has come from God. For no one could perform the miraculous signs you are doing if God were not with him.”
 
On verses 1-2:   Jesus’ most vocal opponents and critics were the Pharisees, the religious elite of Israel.  Yet even among the Pharisees, there were those who secretly believed that Jesus was a teacher sent from God.  One of them was Nicodemus, who was not only a Pharisee but also a member of the powerful ruling council of Israel (v1b).  Nicodemus comes to Jesus at night (v2), perhaps because he did not want to be seen associating with Jesus.

哀慟的人有福了

2024-04-08 in , /by

馬太福音5:4 哀慟的人有福了！因為他們必得安慰。

Matthew 5:4  Blessed are those who mourn,  for they will be comforted.(NIV)

Matthew 5:4 You’re blessed when you feel you’ve lost what is most dear to you. Only then can you be embraced by the One most dear to you. (MSG)

人的哀慟可能來自受傷害、受逼迫，也可能是失去至親好友、忍受試探或試驗，或是無法面對的困境；在人生的窘境中哀慟，表達出人生命中最深層的無助，無助讓人謙卑，謙卑帶出神的憐恤和安慰。耶穌說：哀慟的人有福了！因為他們必得安慰。（太5:4）

惟有神，是安慰我們的。（賽51:12）我們照著神的話語（詩119:50）、公義的典章（詩119:52）、豐盛的應許（詩119:76）得安慰。

我雖然行過死蔭的幽谷，也不怕遭害，因為祢與我同在；祢的杖，祢的竿，都安慰我。（詩23:4）

Take Great Care of God’s House

2024-04-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 2:13-25.  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 2:13-17 (NIV)
13  When it was almost time for the Jewish Passover, Jesus went up to Jerusalem.
14  In the temple courts he found men selling cattle, sheep and doves, and others sitting at tables exchanging money.
15  So he made a whip out of cords, and drove all from the temple area, both sheep and cattle; he scattered the coins of the money changers and overturned their tables.
16  To those who sold doves he said, “Get these out of here! How dare you turn my Father’s house into a market!”
17  His disciples remembered that it is written: “Zeal for your house will consume me.”
 
On verses 13-17:  Here we read of Jesus going to Jerusalem, visiting the temple courts and driving out those who had turned the temple courts into a marketplace. 

虛心的人有福了

2024-04-07 in , /by

馬太福音5:3  虛心的人有福了！因為天國是他們的。

Matthew 5:3  Blessed are the poor in spirit,  for theirs is the kingdom of heaven.(NIV)

虛心的原文是貧窮的、低劣的、堪憐的，是仰仗別人養生的；聖經有些地方將「虛心的」詮譯為「靈裡貧窮的」（太5:3，路6:20）。

人們不管是物質貧窮或是靈裡貧窮，通常會尋求人的幫助；唯有走到人的極限時，我們才會謙卑低頭、仰目望天，渴慕神的恩典。

神給世人的應許：…但我所看顧的，就是虛心（原文是貧窮）痛悔、因我話而戰兢的人。（賽66:2）

耶穌給我們的應許：虛心的人有福了！因為天國是他們的。（太5:3）

明白自己是那困苦、可憐、貧窮、瞎眼、赤身的（啟3:17），「謙卑求靠神」是我們窮極一生最需要的智慧。

作主的見證人

2024-04-05 in , /by

馬太福音28:16-20

16 十一個門徒往加利利去，到了耶穌約定的山上。 17 他們見了耶穌就拜他，然而還有人疑惑。 18 耶穌進前來，對他們說：「天上地下所有的權柄都賜給我了。 19 所以你們要去，使萬民做我的門徒，奉父、子、聖靈的名給他們施洗， 20 凡我所吩咐你們的，都教訓他們遵守。我就常與你們同在，直到世界的末了。」

聖經記載耶穌復活後，在升天前向地上的人多次顯現，包括：抹大拉的馬利亞（約20:12-18）、眾婦女（太28:8-10）、前往以馬忤斯村落的兩位門徒（路24:13-35）、三次向使徒們（第一次，約20:19-23；第二次，約20:24-29；第三次，約21:1-14）；此外，尚有間接轉述的記載，向彼得顯現（路24:33-34），顯給五百多弟兄看、顯給耶穌的弟弟雅各看、再顯給眾使徒看（林前15:3-7）…。徒1:3綜合記述：祂受害之後，用許多的憑據將自己活活地顯給使徒看，四十天之久向他們顯現，講說神國的事。

耶穌復活四十天後，和使徒們來到耶路撒冷附近的橄欖山，應許他們領受聖靈，囑咐他們作主的見證直到地極，然後祂就被取升天（可16:19，路24:50-53，徒1:3-11）。

他們聚集的時候，問耶穌說：「主啊，祢復興以色列國就在這時候嗎？」耶穌對他們說：「父憑著自己的權柄所定的時候、日期，不是你們可以知道的。但聖靈降臨在你們身上，你們就必得著能力，並要在耶路撒冷、猶太全地，和撒馬利亞，直到地極，作我的見證。」（徒1:6-8）耶穌和使徒們的最後問答讓我們明白神的心意。

Jesus Always RSVPs

2024-04-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 2:1-12.  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 2:1-2 (NIV)
1  On the third day a wedding took place at Cana in Galilee. Jesus’ mother was there,
2  and Jesus and his disciples had also been invited to the wedding.
 
On verses 1-2:  Jesus is about to do his first miracle of turning water into wine.  And guess who were the ones who got to experience it?  It was those who invited Jesus, as well as those closest to him.
 
What can we learn from this? If you want Jesus’ involvement in a situation, invite Jesus into the situation.   Whenever you sincerely invite Jesus, you can count on Him to be there.  Jesus always RSVP’s.