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What Kept Jesus Going

2023-01-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 14:12-25.  Let’s go!

Mark 14:12-16 (NIV)
12  On the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread, when it was customary to sacrifice the Passover lamb, Jesus’ disciples asked him, “Where do you want us to go and make preparations for you to eat the Passover?”
13  So he sent two of his disciples, telling them, “Go into the city, and a man carrying a jar of water will meet you. Follow him.
14  Say to the owner of the house he enters, ‘The Teacher asks: Where is my guest room, where I may eat the Passover with my disciples?’
15  He will show you a large upper room, furnished and ready. Make preparations for us there.”
16  The disciples left, went into the city and found things just as Jesus had told them. So they prepared the Passover.
 
On verses 12-16:  Before his disciples made any preparations for the Passover, Jesus was already prepared and had a plan.  Great leaders don’t just rise to the occasion.  Great leaders also anticipate and plan ahead.

Worship is…

2023-01-04 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 14:1-11.  Let’s go!

Mark 14:1-9 (NIV)
1  Now the Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread were only two days away, and the chief priests and the teachers of the law were looking for some sly way to arrest Jesus and kill him.
2  “But not during the Feast,” they said, “or the people may riot.”
3  While he was in Bethany, reclining at the table in the home of a man known as Simon the Leper, a woman came with an alabaster jar of very expensive perfume, made of pure nard. She broke the jar and poured the perfume on his head.
4  Some of those present were saying indignantly to one another, “Why this waste of perfume?

On verses 1-9:   In Matthew 14:1-11 we see three groups of people: (1) those who have never been with Jesus, don’t understand Jesus and are looking to eliminate him (e.g. the chief priests and teachers of the law – v1-2); (2) those who are closer to Jesus and committed to honouring Him (v3-8); and (3) those who have committed their lives to Jesus before but end up leaving him (v10-11).  It’s from this second group, in particular the woman with the alabaster jar, that we learn some important truths about what worship is.

小小的螞蟻

2023-01-04 in , /by

傳道書8:16  我專心求智慧，要看世上所做的事，有晝夜不睡覺，不合眼的。

閱讀經文：傳道書8:16-17

16我專心求智慧，要看世上所做的事，有晝夜不睡覺，不合眼的。17我就看明神一切的作為，知道人查不出日光之下所做的事。任憑他費多少力尋查，都查不出來，就是智慧人雖想知道，也是查不出來。

所羅門的時代和我們現在所處的世代實在有很多的不同，但是也有很相似之處。所羅門日不上床，夜不能寐，為了查看世上之事。現代人的好奇心也不亞於他，只是所羅門沒有現代人的自由。他在耶路撒冷查看，而現代人滿世界跑。前美國總統歐巴馬的女兒瑪亞上大學之前，申請延後入學一年，到南美玻利維亞的蒂基帕亞（Tiquipaya）小鎮旅行；而英國威廉王子十八歲中學畢業到中美洲國家接受皇室陸軍的軍事訓練，也到智利山區擔任志工。

現在的年輕人存了錢就是去旅行，為了擴大自己的視野，對這世界有更多的認識。美國的常春藤盟校更設了空檔年Gap Year，讓學生被錄取之後可以延遲一兩年再入學。因為他們相信通過豐富自己的人生，學生可以對自己有更深的認識，也能比較清楚自己要走的方向，以致有更好的學習。總括而言，都是尋求智慧之旅。所以不管是所羅門或現代的教育，都明白智慧於人生之重要。

4 Ways to “Watch” for Jesus

2023-01-03 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 13:28-37.  Let’s go!

Mark 13:28-29 (NIV)
28  “Now learn this lesson from the fig tree: As soon as its twigs get tender and its leaves come out, you know that summer is near.
29  Even so, when you see these things happening, you know that it is near, right at the door.

On verses 28-29:  “When you see these things happening”, Jesus says, “you know that it is near” (v29).  What things?  What’s near?  For us today the significance of these words are this:  When you see Jesus coming in the clouds in power and glory (v26) and God’s people being gathered to him (v27), you know the end is near. 
 
Mark 13:30 (NIV)
30  I tell you the truth, this generation will certainly not pass away until all these things have happened.
 
On verse 30:  “This generation” can be interpreted narrowly to mean the disciples and their contemporaries living at that time (see for example, Mark 8:12 and 9:19).  Or “this generation” can be interpreted broadly to mean a group of people who come from one common ancestor, and thus “generation” here is sometimes translated “race” as in the human race.  

痛苦中的選擇－饒恕

2023-01-03 in , /by

傳道書8:14  世上有一件虛空的事，就是義人所遭遇的反照惡人所行的，又有惡人所遭遇的反照義人所行的。我說，這也是虛空。

閱讀經文：傳道書8:14-15

14 世上有一件虛空的事，就是義人所遭遇的反照惡人所行的，又有惡人所遭遇的反照義人所行的。我說，這也是虛空。 15 我就稱讚快樂，原來人在日光之下，莫強如吃喝快樂。因為他在日光之下，神賜他一生的年日，要從勞碌中時常享受所得的。

您可能覺得奇怪，我是否用錯了經文。不是的，因為昨天採用ERV的譯文後，覺得有未盡之處，希望用另一個角度來看這段經文。因為它有一個很令人心痛的主題：為什麼當惡人做壞事時，好人卻受罰？惡人卻逍遙法外？所以有“因為斷定罪名，不立刻施刑，所以世人滿心作惡”（傳8:11）的感嘆。還可以改為“因為把罪名加在好人（無辜者）身上，讓好人受苦，所以世人滿心作惡”。那我們怎樣來面對這種世道呢？

在好消息電視台有一個廖文華牧師說，在他國中的時候，父親因為做生意的關係，可能跟別人產生了一些誤解，而那一群人就直接到他們家來要錢，但是當時廖文華的父母正好都不在國內，所以有一段時間他都沒有辦法上學，因為他看到那一群人拿刀子，也就非常害怕被找到，直等到他的父親回國。之後，父親就到法院告這些想用武力得到金錢的人，換句話說，是那一群是要來勒索的人，而在這個過程中，廖文華隔壁家的孩子就被綁架了，並且事實上，當廖文華聽見被綁者的特徵時，就發現他們想要綁的人可能是自己，也因此那個孩子隔一天就被放了回來，這樣的恐懼感就持續在廖文華的心中，但是，由於他的父親覺得自己是有道理的，對方是完全沒有道理的，所以在法院起訴的時候，不僅沒有請律師，也不懂法律和蒐集證據，最後輸了這場官司。

Why Must The End Times Be So Terrifying?

2023-01-02 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 13:14-27.  Let’s go!

Mark 13:14-27 (NIV)
14  “When you see ‘the abomination that causes desolation’ standing where it does not belong–let the reader understand–then let those who are in Judea flee to the mountains.
15  Let no one on the roof of his house go down or enter the house to take anything out.
16  Let no one in the field go back to get his cloak.
17  How dreadful it will be in those days for pregnant women and nursing mothers!
18  Pray that this will not take place in winter,

On verses 14-27:  Many scholars believe that verses 14-23 are referring to two periods of time: first, the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 AD and second the end times when Jesus comes again.

To the extent that these verses deal with the end times, what can we learn from these verses?  While we don’t need to obsess over trying to figure out when exactly the end times will happen, Jesus does want us to be alert and aware of what the end times will look like.  Jesus describes the end times as “days of distress unequaled from the beginning…and never to be equaled again” (v19). 

流通的管道

2023-01-02 in , /by

傳道書8:13a   我就稱讚快樂，原來人在日光之下，莫強如吃喝快樂。

閱讀經文：傳道書8:14-15

14 世上有一件虛空的事，就是義人所遭遇的反照惡人所行的，又有惡人所遭遇的反照義人所行的。我說，這也是虛空。 15 我就稱讚快樂，原來人在日光之下，莫強如吃喝快樂。因為他在日光之下，神賜他一生的年日，要從勞碌中時常享受所得的。

這次我們要再來玩解碼遊戲了，因為有些譯文十分高深，令人摸不著頭腦。所以我多看了幾個譯本，但是看來看去，都是文字上的變化。例如新譯本：“在世上有一件虛空的事，就是義人照惡人所行的受報應，惡人照義人所行的得報償。我說，這也是虛空”。但是找到了Easy Read Version（易讀本ERV），好像一下子就通了，在此跟您分享：

14 There is something else that happens on earth that does not seem fair. Bad things should happen to bad people, and good things should happen to good people. But sometimes bad things happen to good people, and good things happen to bad people. This is not fair.（這世上發生的事有時看來不是那麼公平。壞事本來應該發生在壞人身上，好事應該發生在好人身上。不料，有時壞事卻發生在好人身上，而好事卻發生在壞人身上。這太不公平了。）

What Jesus Wants His Church to Focus On

2023-01-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

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

Mark 13:1-2 (NIV)
1  As he was leaving the temple, one of his disciples said to him, “Look, Teacher! What massive stones! What magnificent buildings!”
2  “Do you see all these great buildings?” replied Jesus. “Not one stone here will be left on another; every one will be thrown down.”
 
On verses 1-2:  Even as the disciples were admiring Jerusalem’s pride and joy, the temple, as well as the surrounding buildings, Jesus predicts that all these builds will be destroyed one day.  Jesus was right.  In 70 AD, about 40 years after Jesus made this prediction, the Romans burned down the temple and demolished Jerusalem’s other buildings. 

真正的福樂

2023-01-01 in , /by

傳道書8:12  罪人雖然作惡百次，倒享長久的年日。然而我準知道，敬畏神的，就是在祂面前敬畏的人，終久必得福樂。

閱讀經文：傳道書8:10-13

10我見惡人埋葬，歸入墳墓，又見行正直事的離開聖地，在城中被人忘記。這也是虛空。11因為斷定罪名，不立刻施刑，所以世人滿心作惡。12罪人雖然作惡百次，倒享長久的年日。然而我準知道，敬畏神的，就是在祂面前敬畏的人，終久必得福樂。13惡人卻不得福樂，也不得長久的年日，這年日好像影兒，因他不敬畏神。

第十節的翻譯有幾種，在這裡給大家參考一下：

聖經新譯本：然後我看見惡人得以埋葬，他們生前在聖地往來，而在他們這樣行的城中，竟被人遺忘。這也是虛空！（全節或譯：「然後我看見惡人得以埋葬，他們生前在聖地往來，並且在他們這樣行的城中，受人稱讚。這也是虛空！」或「然後我看見惡人得以埋葬，歸入墳墓；行正直的人卻與聖地隔離，在城中被人遺忘。這也是虛空！」）

信息聖經：我曾看過有些惡人在聖地埋葬他們的死人，之後他們回到城裡用鮮花歌頌已死之人，在同樣的地方，那些惡人照樣行惡。這也是虛空！（因為wicked men的men是指多數，至少超過一個）10 One time I saw wicked men given a solemn burial in holy ground. When the people returned to the city, they delivered flowery eulogies—and in the very place where wicked acts were done by those very men! More smoke. Indeed.

Worthy of All the Honour

2022-12-30 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 12:35-44.  Let’s go!

Mark 12:35-37 (NIV)
35  While Jesus was teaching in the temple courts, he asked, “How is it that the teachers of the law say that the Christ is the son of David?
36  David himself, speaking by the Holy Spirit, declared: “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand until I put your enemies under your feet.”‘
37  David himself calls him ‘Lord.’ How then can he be his son?” The large crowd listened to him with delight.
 
On verses 35-37:  The Pharisees, the Herodians, the Sadducees and the teachers of the law all had their turns asking Jesus tough questions.  Jesus answered every one of their questions with amazing wisdom and poise.  Now it was Jesus’ turn to ask a question.  Unlike his critics whose questions were traps to make Jesus look bad, Jesus asks his question to reveal a powerful truth about Himself.  Jesus takes a familiar teaching that his listeners took for granted – the idea that the Christ (Messiah) is the “son of David”, i.e. a descendant of David.  Jesus questions how the Messiah can be the son of David when David himself in Psalm 110 describes this Messiah as “my Lord” (v36).  Doesn’t “my Lord” suggest someone much more senior and more powerful than David?