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Don’t Wait Till Tomorrow to Turn to God

2023-12-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Joel 2:12-17.  Let’s go!

Joel 2:12-17 (NIV)
12  ‘Even now,’ declares the LORD, ‘return to me with all your heart, with fasting and weeping and mourning.’
13  Rend your heart and not your garments. Return to the LORD your God, for he is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.

On verses 12-17:  The day of the Lord will be a dreadful day for those who have rejected God.  That is why in verse 12 God is quoted as saying (in the NLT version), “Turn to me now, while there is time.  Give me your hearts.  Come with fasting, weeping and mourning.”

That is also why Joel implores his people to “return to the Lord your God, for He is gracious and compassionate, slow to anger and abounding in love, and he relents from sending calamity.” (v13) 

第二個“聽”！

2023-12-18 in , /by

彌迦書 3: 1  我說：雅各的首領，以色列家的官長啊，你們要聽！你們不當知道公平嗎？

讀經文: 彌迦書  3:1-12 

1我說：雅各的首領，以色列家的官長啊，你們要聽！你們不當知道公平嗎？ 2 你們惡善好惡，從人身上剝皮，從人骨頭上剔肉。 3 吃我民的肉，剝他們的皮，打折他們的骨頭，分成塊子像要下鍋，又像釜中的肉。 4 到了遭災的時候，這些人必哀求耶和華，他卻不應允他們。那時他必照他們所行的惡事，向他們掩面。

在第一章裡，先知呼喊：“萬民哪，你們都要聽！地和其上所有的，也都要側耳而聽！”在第三章裡，出現了第二個“聽”：“雅各的首領，以色列家的官長啊，你們要聽！” 彌迦在此章裡公然聲明，叫雅各的首領和以色列家的官長來聽他的信息。他的信息並不好聽。說實在的，他這種信息在任何時代落在首領和官長的耳中，都有遭禍的可能。

因為他的責備不僅嚴厲，而且入骨：“你們不當知道公平嗎？你們惡善好惡，從人身上剝皮，從人骨頭上剔肉。吃我民的肉，剝他們的皮，打折他們的骨頭，分成塊子像要下鍋，又像釜中的肉。” 在加拿大，做省長的只要佔了任何人一點便宜，被人挖掘出來，就要下台一鞠躬了。但是在世界上很多地方的政治並不如此透明。這句話使我們想到華人社會許多官吏的冷酷無情和對人民的剝削。這種事情對我們並不陌生。

God’s Unstoppable Army

2023-12-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Joel 2:1-11.  Let’s go!

Joel 2:1-11 (NIV)
1  Blow the trumpet in Zion; sound the alarm on my holy hill. Let all who live in the land tremble, for the day of the LORD is coming. It is close at hand–
2  a day of darkness and gloom, a day of clouds and blackness. Like dawn spreading across the mountains a large and mighty army comes, such as never was of old nor ever will be in ages to come.

On verses 1-11:  After describing the impact of a recent locust plague on his land in chapter 1, Joel in chapter 2 turns his attention to the future.  He sees the locust plague that his land has experienced as foreshadowing what he and other Old Testament prophets call the “day of the Lord”.  Earlier in Joel 1:15, Joel already made mention of “the day of the Lord”, but only in passing.  Now in these verses, Joel goes into more detail about what the day of the Lord will be like.  The day of the Lord is essentially a day in the future, or a time period in the future, when God will assert His power over all of the earth and bring final judgment against His enemies.  Joel calls it “a day of darkness and gloom” (v2), great and dreadful (v11).  As mentioned previously, New Testament writers like Paul and Peter would equate this day of the Lord with the day that the Lord Jesus returns, not as a suffering servant, but as a conquering king arriving to establish His kingdom.

When You’re Going Through Desperate Times, Fast and Pray

2023-12-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Joel 1:13-20.  Let’s go!

Joel 1:13-14 (NIV)
13  Put on sackcloth, O priests, and mourn; wail, you who minister before the altar. Come, spend the night in sackcloth, you who minister before my God; for the grain offerings and drink offerings are withheld from the house of your God.
14  Declare a holy fast; call a sacred assembly. Summon the elders and all who live in the land to the house of the LORD your God, and cry out to the LORD.
 
On verses 13-14:  Joel’s nation was facing desperate times.  A famine meant that offerings were withheld from the house of God (v13).  In the midst of these desperate times, Joel calls the priests not only to mourn and wail (v13) but also to declare a fast and call a sacred assembly so that the people could come together in God’s presence with prayer and fasting (v14).

思想帶出行為

2023-12-17 in , /by

彌迦書2: 1  禍哉，那些在床上圖謀罪孽、造做奸惡的！天一發亮，因手有能力就行出來了。

讀經文: 彌迦書 2:1-13

1禍哉，那些在床上圖謀罪孽、造做奸惡的！天一發亮，因手有能力就行出來了。 2 他們貪圖田地就占據，貪圖房屋便奪取。他們欺壓人，霸占房屋和產業。 3 所以耶和華如此說：「我籌劃災禍降於這族，這禍在你們的頸項上不能解脫，你們也不能昂首而行，因為這時勢是惡的。

在本書的第一章強而有力地形容出一個人的思想如何影響他的一生。有人說：思想會帶出話語，所以要小心你說的話，因為言語會變成行動。留意你的行為，它會成為你的習慣；注意你的習慣，它會形成你的性格；不要輕忽你的性格，因為它將決定你的一生。所以在暗室時，在獨處時，要留心你的思想，因為它將帶動你一生的走向。彌迦告訴我們，在床上時也要很小心，不要盡想不好的事情，因為到了早上，那些思想就會影響你的行為或行動。

你有沒有這樣的經歷：白天有人得罪你，晚上入睡前你就一直在想如何報復，第二天早上起來就按著昨晚所想的方法去行動？或是夜裡突然想到有個發財的捷徑，第二天一早就著手行動了。聖經裡形容得何等傳神：“那些在床上圖謀…的，天一發亮，因手有能力就行出來了”。當然，圖謀什麼自己知道，神也知道。

When Things Go From Bad to Worse

2023-12-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today we begin the book of Joel.  Not much is known about Joel.  We do know that he was a prophet living in Jerusalem and his name means “Jehovah is his God”.  His dad’s name was Pethuel meaning “vision of God”.  It is not clear when the book of Joel was written.  In fact, there is quite possibly no book in the Bible whose date of composition is more widely debated than the book of Joel, with various scholars proposing dates as early as approximately 900 B.C. to as late as 200 B.C.  As Robert B. Chisholm, Jr. of the Bible Knowledge Commentary writes, given the lack of clear historical clues, “it is impossible to be dogmatic about the date of the writing of Joel”[1].  Though overall preferring a 7th century B.C. date, D.A. Garrett from the New American Commentary also concludes that “[a]ny suggested time frame for the book should be tentative, and the interpretation of the book should not depend upon a hypothetical historical setting.”[2]  That said, Joel is a powerful book with some important lessons for us today. 

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

無法醫治的傷痕

2023-12-15 in , /by

彌迦書  1: 8 先知說：因此我必大聲哀號，赤腳露體而行；又要呼號如野狗，哀鳴如鴕鳥。

讀經文: 彌迦書 1:5-16

5 這都因雅各的罪過，以色列家的罪惡。雅各的罪過在哪裡呢？豈不是在撒馬利亞嗎？猶大的丘壇在哪裡呢？豈不是在耶路撒冷嗎？ 6 「所以，我必使撒馬利亞變為田野的亂堆，又作為種葡萄之處；也必將她的石頭倒在谷中，露出根基來。 7 她一切雕刻的偶像必被打碎，她所得的財物必被火燒，所有的偶像我必毀滅，因為是從妓女雇價所聚來的，後必歸為妓女的雇價。」

神從祂的聖殿見證雅各家的不是，神出了祂的居所，所行過的各處，眾山都消化，諸谷必崩裂，如蠟化在火中，如水沖下山坡。雅各家究竟犯了何罪，讓神如此大作？先知直指罪的根源來自兩國的首府，一是撒瑪利亞，一是耶路撒冷。因為它們是雅各家罪惡的根源，所以有一天，撒瑪利亞要變為田野的亂堆，或種葡萄之處；它那些美麗輝煌的建築必成亂石，露出根基，人再也看不到它的美麗和輝煌。想像現在美麗的東方之珠香港或大蘋果紐約，或台北、北京、上海成為田野的亂堆，倒塌露出根基，是怎樣的情況？紐約的雙子樓在911事件中倒下時，我們都看到了，那是一個很悲慘的狀況。

來自鄉村的先知彌迦

2023-12-14 in , /by

彌迦書  1: 3  看哪，耶和華出了祂的居所，降臨步行地的高處。

讀經文: 彌迦書 1:1-4

1 當猶大王約坦、亞哈斯、希西家在位的時候，摩利沙人彌迦得耶和華的默示，論撒馬利亞和耶路撒冷。

2 萬民哪，你們都要聽！地和其上所有的，也都要側耳而聽！主耶和華從他的聖殿要見證你們的不是。 3 看哪，耶和華出了祂的居所，降臨步行地的高處。 4 眾山在他以下必消化，諸谷必崩裂，如蠟化在火中，如水沖下山坡。

先知彌迦來自一個稱為摩利沙的小鎮，此鎮位於離耶路撒冷約有33公里的肥沃高原地帶，靠近迦特（非利士城鎮），因此又稱為摩利沙迦特；也因為此地位於猶大和非利士的邊境，對兩國均有重大的軍事意義，故猶大王常常來此地巡視，看看此地有沒有受到威脅。也因為猶大王常來巡視，因此地方雖小，卻經常有大人物出入。

彌迦原在猶大的農村工作，蒙召後多半在民間傳揚神的話，被稱為“鄉村的先知”。與他同時代的先知有以賽亞，他是個大學者，和彌迦一起主要向猶大發預言；阿摩司是牧羊人出身，和何西阿（神叫他去娶淫婦）則主要對以色列發預言。彌迦剛奉差遣出來事奉時，北國以色列由耶羅波安二世執政，國勢富強，他的兒子撒迦利雅做王六個月後就被篡位；此後政局非當不穩，國勢一落萬丈。

Live Again Through Jesus

2023-12-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Hebrews 13:10-25. Let’s go!

Hebrews 13:10 (NIV) 
10  We have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat.

On verse 10:  Who are “those who minister at the tabernacle”?  The writer of Hebrews is referring to priests who served under the old covenant and who would sacrifice bulls and goats according to the law of Moses.  These priests would sacrifice animals at an altar and would in certain circumstances be allowed to eat some of the sacrificed animals.  So what does the writer of Hebrews mean when he says that “we have an altar from which those who minister at the tabernacle have no right to eat”?   Here the writer of Hebrews is saying that we as believers in Christ living under the new covenant have an altar – that is, a way to worship, connect with God and be in God’s presence – that the old covenant priests could not access by merely sacrificing bulls and goats.  As Hebrews 10:20 says, “a new and living way [to God] opened for us” when Jesus died on the cross for our sins.  Once again it’s the theme that through Jesus Christ we have something incredibly precious and unique that priests under the old covenant did not have.

約拿發怒

2023-12-13 in , /by

約拿書 4:4 耶和華說：「你這樣發怒合乎理嗎？」

讀經文: 約拿書 4:1-11

1 這事約拿大大不悅，且甚發怒， 2 就禱告耶和華說：「耶和華啊，我在本國的時候，豈不是這樣說嗎？我知道你是有恩典有憐憫的神，不輕易發怒，有豐盛的慈愛，並且後悔不降所說的災，所以我急速逃往他施去。 3 耶和華啊，現在求你取我的命吧！因為我死了比活著還好。」 4 耶和華說：「你這樣發怒合乎理嗎？」 5 於是約拿出城，坐在城的東邊，在那裡為自己搭了一座棚，坐在棚的蔭下，要看看那城究竟如何。

這一章裡的約拿充份反映出人的本性：“我發怒以至於死，都合乎理”。最近在台北，有一個老翁上了巴士，走到博愛座前看到有一位年輕的女人坐著，沒有起來讓位給他。就惡狠狠地罵她，還給了她一巴掌。那位年輕的小姐哭了，因為她那天月事來，肚子疼痛不舒服，才坐到博愛座上，沒想到那個老翁如此無理，還動手打人。可見老翁本身是有力氣站一下的，只是認為博愛座是給老人坐的，別人都不可以坐。老翁覺得他發怒很合理啊，等知道真相時，他豈不感到羞愧？

當人發怒時，其實已經被情緒所制，沒有理智可言了。所以雅各說：“人的怒氣並不成就神的義”（雅1:20）。