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Moses your accuser, Jesus your Saviour

2024-04-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:41-47.  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 5:41-44 (NIV)
41  “I do not accept praise from men,
42  but I know you. I know that you do not have the love of God in your hearts.
43  I have come in my Father’s name, and you do not accept me; but if someone else comes in his own name, you will accept him.
44  How can you believe if you accept praise from one another, yet make no effort to obtain the praise that comes from the only God?
 
On verses 41-44:  Interesting.  Jesus seems to be saying that if we’re all about living for people’s praise and approval and are not interested in pleasing God, the result is that we won’t have the love of God in our hearts (v42), we will reject Jesus in favour of others (v43) and have a weak and ineffective faith (“how can you believe” – v44).  In other words, whose praise you live for will greatly impact how much real faith, hope and love you have.

安息是認定神手作的工都甚好

2024-04-21 in , /by

出埃及記 20:8-11

8 「當記念安息日，守為聖日。 9 六日要勞碌做你一切的工， 10 但第七日是向耶和華你神當守的安息日。這一日你和你的兒女、僕婢、牲畜，並你城裡寄居的客旅，無論何工都不可做。 11 因為六日之內，耶和華造天、地、海和其中的萬物，第七日便安息，所以耶和華賜福於安息日，定為聖日。

舊約聖經記載神在西奈山頒布「十誡」，其中第四條誡命（出20:8-11）明定「當記念安息日，守為聖日。六日要勞碌做你一切的工，但第七日是向耶和華─你神當守的安息日。這一日你和你的兒女、僕婢、牲畜，並你城裡寄居的客旅，無論何工都不可做；…」

誡命裡接續說明了守安息日的原因：「…因為六日之內，耶和華造天、地、海，和其中的萬物，第七日便安息，所以耶和華賜福與安息日，定為聖日。」（出20:11）這裡將「六日做工，第七日安息」和「神完成六日的創造，第七日歇了工」聯結在一起。

比較創世紀的記載 ：「天地萬物都造齊了。到第七日，神造物的工已經完畢，就在第七日歇了他一切的工，安息了。神賜福給第七日，定為聖日；因為在這日，神歇了他一切創造的工，就安息了。」（創2:1-3）這段經文的原文並沒有「安息了」和「就安息了」這些字眼。

Jesus and The Father

2024-04-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:31-40.  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 5:31-34 (NIV)
31  “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.
32  There is another who testifies in my favor, and I know that his testimony about me is valid.
33  “You have sent to John and he has testified to the truth.
34  Not that I accept human testimony; but I mention it that you may be saved.

On verses 31-34:  To help show the credibility of Jesus’ claim that he is the Son of God, Jesus references the court system that his listeners would be very familiar with.  According to the Jewish law, any claim that a person made in court needed to be established by two or three witnesses (Deuteronomy 19:15; Matthew 18:16).  That is why Jesus says in verse 31, “If I testify about myself, my testimony is not valid.”    

安息是記念神領我出為奴之地

2024-04-19 in , /by

出埃及記 20:8-11

8 「當記念安息日，守為聖日。 9 六日要勞碌做你一切的工， 10 但第七日是向耶和華你神當守的安息日。這一日你和你的兒女、僕婢、牲畜，並你城裡寄居的客旅，無論何工都不可做。 11 因為六日之內，耶和華造天、地、海和其中的萬物，第七日便安息，所以耶和華賜福於安息日，定為聖日。

出20:8-11記載「十誡」中第四條誡命「守安息日」，其中出20:11經文將「六日做工，第七日安息」和「神完成六日的創造，第七日歇了工」聯結在一起。

以色列人經過近四十年的曠野生活，取得約旦河東之地後（申4:44-49），摩西向百姓重申神在西奈山（何烈山）與百姓立約，及其頒布的「十誡」（申5:1-22）；其中，第四條誡命「守安息日」（申5:12-15）前半段的內容沒變，但後半段經文則將守安息日和神帶領他們出埃及的歷史聯結在一起。

「你也要記念你在埃及地作過奴僕；耶和華─你神用大能的手和伸出來的膀臂將你從那裡領出來。因此，耶和華─你的神吩咐你守安息日。（申5:15）」

創世記常用「亞伯拉罕的神、以撒的神、雅各的神」來提醒百姓，強調神過去在以色列人列祖歷史上的帶領和經歷，百姓出埃及後，「我是耶和華─你的神，曾將你從埃及地為奴之家領出來（申5:6）」則成為以色列人對神最重要的認識和提醒。

安息是相信神的供應是足夠的

2024-04-18 in , /by

出埃及記 16:4-5

4 耶和華對摩西說：「我要將糧食從天降給你們。百姓可以出去，每天收每天的份，我好試驗他們遵不遵我的法度。 5 到第六天，他們要把所收進來的預備好了，比每天所收的多一倍。」

Exodus 16:4-5

4 Then the Lord said to Moses, “I will rain down bread from heaven for you. The people are to go out each day and gather enough for that day. In this way I will test them and see whether they will follow my instructions. 5 On the sixth day they are to prepare what they bring in, and that is to be twice as much as they gather on the other days.”(NIV)

出埃及記第16章經文記載：離開埃及行走在曠野中的以色列百姓，因飢餓而向摩西、亞倫發怨言，神於是供應鵪鶉和嗎哪來滿足他們的需要。

耶和華對摩西說：「我要將糧食從天降給你們。百姓可以出去，每天收每天的分，我好試驗他們遵不遵我的法度。到第六天，他們要把所收進來的預備好了，比每天所收的多一倍。」（出16:4-5）

到了晚上，有鵪鶉飛來，遮滿了營；早晨在營四圍的地上有露水。露水上升之後，不料，野地面上有如白霜的小圓物。以色列人看見，不知道是甚麼，就彼此對問說：「這是甚麼呢？（原文音譯為嗎哪）」（出16:13-15）

摩西照著神的吩咐要求百姓遵守：第一是按著各人的飯量，每人各拿一俄梅珥（約等於2.3公升）。當時百姓照著行，有的多收、有的少收；他們用升斗衡量的時候，多收的沒有剩餘，少收的也不缺乏；各人按著自己的食量收取（出16:17-18，新譯本）。

Jesus and The Father

2024-04-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:19-30.  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 5:19-23 (NIV)
19  Jesus gave them this answer: “I tell you the truth, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
20  For the Father loves the Son and shows him all he does. Yes, to your amazement he will show him even greater things than these.
21  For just as the Father raises the dead and gives them life, even so the Son gives life to whom he is pleased to give it.
22  Moreover, the Father judges no one, but has entrusted all judgment to the Son,
23  that all may honor the Son just as they honor the Father. He who does not honor the Son does not honor the Father, who sent him.

On verses 19-23:  Here Jesus describes how intricately entwined he and the Father are:
–        Jesus the Son can do nothing by himself but only does what he sees his Father doing (v19);
–        Whatever the Father does Jesus the Son also does (v19);
–        “For the Father loves the Son” (v20):  It’s a love relationship between the Father and Jesus the Son;
–        “…and shows him all he does” (v20): It’s a relationship of transparency between the Father and Jesus the Son;

安息是分別為聖

2024-04-17 in , /by

馬太福音12:1-8

那時，耶穌在安息日從麥地經過。他的門徒餓了，就掐起麥穗來吃。 2 法利賽人看見，就對耶穌說：「看哪，你的門徒做安息日不可做的事了。」 3 耶穌對他們說：「經上記著大衛和跟從他的人飢餓之時所做的事，你們沒有念過嗎？ 4 他怎麼進了神的殿，吃了陳設餅？這餅不是他和跟從他的人可以吃的，唯獨祭司才可以吃。 5 再者，律法上所記的，當安息日祭司在殿裡犯了安息日還是沒有罪，你們沒有念過嗎？ 6 但我告訴你們：在這裡有一人比殿更大。 7 『我喜愛憐恤，不喜愛祭祀』，你們若明白這話的意思，就不將無罪的當做有罪的了。 8 因為人子是安息日的主。」

「安息日(Sabbath)」這詞來自希伯來文Shabbat，有止住、停止、止息的意思，安息日是猶太曆法一個星期的第七天，從星期五的日落到星期六的日落前。

有些學者推測安息日可能源自古巴比倫，來自亞喀得(Akkadian)語的「清除節(Sabattu)」。清除節指的是月圓時，亦即每月的十四或十五日。古巴比倫在每月的初七、十四、廿一和廿八、或其接近的日子（依月亮運行日程作計算）當作「不祥日」或「兇日」，在這些日子，先知、祭司、君王和醫生要避免做某些事，跟華人農民曆中「諸事不宜」的忌日類似。

巴比倫文化中Sabattu規定：在這日子什麼都不能作，要休息，因為是「兇日」。這顯然和以色列人的安息日截然不同，以色列人的安息日是立約的記號（結20:12），被稱為「聖日」（出20:8，申5:6）或「聖安息日」，原文意思是「分別為聖、把…奉獻給神」，是歇下工作，為歡喜敬拜神而設立的日子。

Restored to God’s Presence

2024-04-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:10-18 (but for context we’ll start at verse 9).  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 5:9-10 (NIV)
9  At once the man was cured; he picked up his mat and walked. The day on which this took place was a Sabbath,
10  and so the Jews said to the man who had been healed, “It is the Sabbath; the law forbids you to carry your mat.”

On verses 9-10:  In the Ten Commandments, God commanded His people to honour the Sabbath day by resting and not doing work on that day (Exodus 20:8-9).  The religious elite among the Jews would interpret this command in an extreme and overly strict way, such that they considered carrying one’s mat from one place to another on a Sabbath day to be a violation of the command to honour the Sabbath day.  By focusing on these technicalities, the religious elite missed the purpose and heart of God’s commands.  All of a sudden, a command that was meant to bring joy, refreshing and rest became a legalistic burden.

在主裡面的安息

2024-04-16 in , /by

馬可福音16:9  在七日的第一日清早，耶穌復活了，就先向抹大拉的馬利亞顯現，耶穌從她身上曾趕出七個鬼。

約翰福音20:1 七日的第一日清早，天還黑的時候，抹大拉的馬利亞來到墳墓那裡，看見石頭從墳墓挪開了，

哥林多前書16:1-2  論到為聖徒捐錢，我從前怎樣吩咐加拉太的眾教會，你們也當怎樣行。 2 每逢七日的第一日，各人要照自己的進項抽出來留著，免得我來的時候現湊。

使徒行傳20:7   七日的第一日，我們聚會掰餅的時候，保羅因為要次日起行，就與他們講論，直講到半夜。

四福音記載耶穌在「七日的第一日」復活（可16:9，約20:1），也就是星期日，初代教會信徒會在當天聚集，記念耶穌復活，因此稱為「主日」，當時仍採猶太曆法，主日是從星期六的日落時分開始。

守主日的最早證據是林前16:1-2的經文，保羅談到每逢七日的第一日為聖徒捐錢（奉獻），徒20:7也記載七日的第一日，保羅在特羅亞與門徒聚會擘餅。主後321年，信主後的羅馬皇帝君士坦丁一世頒布法令，正式把星期日定為商業假期。

Your Attitude Matters

2024-04-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is John 5:1-9.  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 5:1-3 (NIV)
1  Some time later, Jesus went up to Jerusalem for a feast of the Jews.
2  Now there is in Jerusalem near the Sheep Gate a pool, which in Aramaic is called Bethesda and which is surrounded by five covered colonnades.
3  Here a great number of disabled people used to lie–the blind, the lame, the paralyzed.

On verses 1-3:  John’s Gospel now shifts to Jesus in Jerusalem.   There Jesus visits the pool of Bethesda where disabled people were known to congregate.  Apparently some people believed that an angel stirred the waters of the pool of Bethesda and that the first person to enter the pool after the waters were stirred would be healed.  
 
By the way, why is verse 4 missing?  If you read the King James version of John’s Gospel, you will see verses 3b and 4 which mention this idea of an angel coming to stir the pool waters.  However, this was apparently a later addition into Scripture and has been omitted from more current versions of the Gospel of John.