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Truth is a Person

2023-11-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today we’re looking at one of the shortest books in the Bible: it’s 2 John, a letter which is widely believed to be written by the apostle John and written around the same time as 1 John (many scholars say about early 60s AD).   Let’s go!
 
2 John 1:1 (NIV) 
1  The elder, To the chosen lady and her children, whom I love in the truth–and not I only, but also all who know the truth–

On verse 1:  Who is this “chosen lady” that John is writing to?  Many scholars believe that this chosen lady was not an individual but a church community.  This is supported by the fact that there are no proper names given for this chosen lady, John refers to this lady not just in the singular but also in the plural, and the church is called the “bride of Christ” in the New Testament.  Similarly, “your chosen sister” (v13) is probably referring to another church community from which John is writing his letter. 

Since this was a time of heavy persecution of Christians, “chosen lady” and “your chosen sister” may have been secret code words to keep this letter from being detected by persecutors of Christians. 

以敬畏的心歸向耶和華

2023-11-09 in , /by

何西阿書3:5  後來以色列人必歸回，尋求他們的神耶和華和他們的王大衛。在末後的日子，必以敬畏的心歸向耶和華，領受祂的恩惠。

閱讀經文:  何西阿書 3:1-5

1耶和華對我說：「你再去愛一個淫婦，就是她情人所愛的；好像以色列人，雖然偏向別神，喜愛葡萄餅，耶和華還是愛他們。」 2 我便用銀子十五舍客勒，大麥一賀梅珥半，買她歸我。 3 我對她說：「你當多日為我獨居，不可行淫，不可歸別人為妻，我向你也必這樣。」 4 以色列人也必多日獨居，無君王，無首領，無祭祀，無柱像，無以弗得，無家中的神像。

你有沒有想過，當我們讀〈但以理書〉時，為何心裡有一種歡悅；但是讀〈何西阿〉書時，心裡卻感到厭煩和沉悶？其實，不止〈何西阿書〉，好像〈耶利米書〉、部份〈以西結書〉和〈以賽亞書〉，都會有一種想逃避的感覺？我自己稍微分析了一下，〈但以理書〉和其他先知書最大的不同，在於其中沒有很長的指責和訓誨，並且但以理和朋友在驚心動魄的考驗之後，總是有極為奇妙的神蹟出現，那就是我們最喜歡的部份。

但是在其他的先知書，我們看到的大多是神對以色列人和列國的責備，先知的生活也總是有點悽慘。神要他們去做的事，大都是我們一般難以接受的。但以理雖然生活在外邦人中間，但是他保守自己的聖潔，也因他保守自己，神也保守他，祝福他。其他先知們也是生活在不聖潔的人群之中，雖然是本國人，神的選民之中，卻是被神認為污穢而不聖潔之民。

祢是我的神

2023-11-08 in , /by

何西阿書2:21  耶和華說：那日我必應允，我必應允天，天必應允地。

閱讀經文:  何西阿書 2:1-23

1「你們要稱你們的弟兄為阿米，稱你們的姐妹為路哈瑪。2 「你們要與你們的母親大大爭辯，因為她不是我的妻子，我也不是她的丈夫。叫她除掉臉上的淫像和胸間的淫態， 3 免得我剝她的衣服，使她赤體，與才生的時候一樣，使她如曠野，如乾旱之地，因渴而死。 4 我必不憐憫她的兒女，因為他們是從淫亂而生的。 5 他們的母親行了淫亂，懷他們的母做了可羞恥的事，因為她說：『我要隨從所愛的，我的餅、水、羊毛、麻、油、酒都是他們給的。』

在這一章的上半段裡，先知為何要兒女與母親爭辯？有何原因使他如此憤慨地提及他的妻子？在這段裡的母親和兒女代表的是誰？在這一段經文裡，有哪些事暗示歌蔑已經又有淫亂之舉？荊棘和築牆又有什麼特別的意義呢？

從這段經文裡，先知似乎正處在一種非常的痛苦中，不能找他人傾訴，只能和兒女們訴苦。希望兒女在他們妻間做審判者，還給他一個公道。在這裡的母親和兒女顯然代表以色列人，因為他們在屬靈上的不專一，或者說是離棄神，而導致關係的破裂。神的口氣是如此的痛苦，以致於祂要說：“因為她不是我的妻子，我也不是她的丈夫”，就像在說：我們乾脆離婚罷了，我不要再做你的丈夫，你也不要做我的妻子。

Confident Because of Jesus

2023-11-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is 1 John 5:13-21.  Let’s go! 
 
1 John 5:13-15 (NIV) 
13  I write these things to you who believe in the name of the Son of God so that you may know that you have eternal life. 
14  This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. 
15  And if we know that he hears us–whatever we ask–we know that we have what we asked of him.

On verses 13-15:  John writes so that his readers would have confidence in their salvation (v13) and confidence that God hears their prayers (v14-15).  As those who believe in the name of the Son of God, we can have the same confidence as well. 

On verses 16-17:  In addition to being confident that we have eternal life and being confident that God hears our prayers, we can be confident that when we pray for others who confess their sins to us, God uses our prayers to restore and strengthen them.  The sole exception is when a person commits the “sin that leads to death” (v16).

By Water and By Blood

2023-11-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is 1 John 5:1-12.  Let’s go!

1 John 5:1a (NIV) 
1  Everyone who believes that Jesus is the Christ is born of God…

On verse 1a:  I love how simple the apostle John makes it sometimes.  If you believe Jesus is the Christ (the Saviour of the world), you are born of God and have life in Him.  Simple.

1 John 5:1b-2 (NIV) 
1…and everyone who loves the father loves his child as well. 
2  This is how we know that we love the children of God: by loving God and carrying out his commands.

On verses 1a-2:  Earlier John was saying that one important way that we love God is by loving His children.  Now John is taking it in the other direction: he’s saying that to love God’s children is to love God and carry out His commands.  How is it that we love the children of God when we love God and obey His commands?  Here are two ways that works.

何西阿的兒女

2023-11-07 in , /by

何西阿書1:10a  然而，以色列的人數必如海沙，不可量，不可數。

閱讀經文:  何西阿書 1:4-11

4 耶和華對何西阿說：「給他起名叫耶斯列，因為再過片時，我必討耶戶家在耶斯列殺人流血的罪，也必使以色列家的國滅絕。 5 到那日，我必在耶斯列平原折斷以色列的弓。」

何西阿娶淫婦為妻，可能有的人會想，既然神要他娶，就娶。只要不理她，也可以過日子。但是我們看到何西阿的順服是裡外合一的順服。從他和歌篾一個接一個地生孩子，何西阿對歌篾就好像是丈夫對妻子一樣，沒有虧欠。這就是神要的順服，不是陽奉陰違，而是表裡一致的順服。

有的人花很多時間來為神辯解，神不會叫人去娶淫婦，或有的說，那是指精神上的淫亂，因為歌篾拜偶像，等等。但是我們還是回到聖經上，看看聖經是怎麼說的，好過用自己的意思去猜來猜去，都沒個準。

God’s Love Drives Out Our Fear

2023-11-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is 1 John 4:13-21.  Let’s go!

1 John 4:13-14 (NIV) 
13  We know that we live in him and he in us, because he has given us of his Spirit. 
14  And we have seen and testify that the Father has sent his Son to be the Savior of the world.

On verses 13-14:  In other words, the faith that John and his fellow apostles preach is not merely about believing in abstract ideas.  Rather their faith comes with a real experience of God’s Holy Spirit (v13), and their testimony is based on having actually seen this Jesus who was sent from the Father to be the Saviour of the world (v14).  In other words, Christian faith is not simply a bunch of philosophical principles and ideas about metaphysics.  Rather, the Christian faith is grounded in historical fact and is accompanied by a real, life-changing experience of the Holy Spirit. 

何西阿受命

2023-11-06 in , /by

何西阿書1:2b  你去娶淫婦為妻，也收那從淫亂所生的兒女，因為這地大行淫亂，離棄耶和華。

閱讀經文:  何西阿書 1:1-3

1當烏西雅、約坦、亞哈斯、希西家做猶大王，約阿施的兒子耶羅波安做以色列王的時候，耶和華的話臨到備利的兒子何西阿。

世界上的愛情故事很多，可是像〈何西阿書〉這一本寫愛情的書，一開始就令人愕然不已。很多人尋求神祝福的婚姻，求神帶領他們找到神為自己預備的配偶。若你是何西阿，神真的為你預備了祂所選給你的配偶，你要不要接受？你會不會接受？我們所期望的配偶都是要與我們匹配的，門戶相當的，但是若對方與你不匹配，不門戶相當，你還會考慮這個婚姻嗎？藉著一個婚姻的悲劇，神要讓我們明白祂對我們的愛，以及何謂真正的愛情。

在公元八世紀裡，神興起了幾位大先知，向北國以色列發言的是阿摩司和何西阿，向南國猶大發言的是以賽亞和彌迦。從人的眼光來看，那並不是一個太差的時代。當時北國以色列的王是耶羅波安二世，南國猶大的王是烏西雅王；在他們當政時，國家都變得富強壯大。

生命冊的挑戰

2023-11-05 in , /by

但以理書12:2  睡在塵埃中的必有多人復醒，其中有得永生的，有受羞辱永遠被憎惡的。

閱讀經文:  但以理書 12:1-13

1「那時，保佑你本國之民的天使長米迦勒必站起來，並且有大艱難，從有國以來直到此時沒有這樣的。你本國的民中，凡名錄在冊上的，必得拯救。 2 睡在塵埃中的必有多人復醒，其中有得永生的，有受羞辱永遠被憎惡的。 3 智慧人必發光，如同天上的光；那使多人歸義的，必發光如星，直到永永遠遠。 4 但以理啊，你要隱藏這話，封閉這書，直到末時。必有多人來往奔跑，知識就必增長。」

〈但以理書〉到尾聲了，有點捨不得結束。想到在異國裡守住敬虔的但以理，就覺得應該向他看齊，學習他不管在什麼環境下都尊主為大的生活方式。不要害怕人言可畏，也不要擔心必然受害。我想這就是他大蒙神眷愛的原因之一。主耶穌說，“清心的人有福了，因為他們得以見神”（太5:8）。我想，但以理就是最好的例子了。

在11章40-45節裡，我們沒有太多討論。因為大部份聖經學者都認為，那段時間，也就是12章所說的“大艱難”，是指安提阿哥四世的迫害或末世的大災難，或說是安提阿哥四世末期或主耶穌第二次降臨前景。所以在這裡給大家做個參考。

How God Shows His Love

2023-11-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is 1 John 4:7-12.  Let’s go!

1 John 4:7-12 (NIV) 
7  Dear friends, let us love one another, for love comes from God. Everyone who loves has been born of God and knows God. 
8  Whoever does not love does not know God, because God is love. 
9  This is how God showed his love among us: He sent his one and only Son into the world that we might live through him. 
10  This is love: not that we loved God, but that he loved us and sent his Son as an atoning sacrifice for our sins. 
11  Dear friends, since God so loved us, we also ought to love one another. 
12  No one has ever seen God; but if we love one another, God lives in us and his love is made complete in us.
 
On verses 7-12:  This is one of my favourite passages in 1 John, so much so that when Sharleen and I got married this was the passage we chose to be read at our wedding.  This passage is not just beautifully written; more importantly, it is one of the best summaries you will find in the Bible of what Christianity is all about, teaching us that: