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Faith That Makes A Difference

2022-11-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 2:1-12.  Let’s go!

Mark 2:1 (NIV)
1  A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home.
 
On verse 1:  Wait. Wasn’t Jesus born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth?  Why do people say that Jesus has come home when he returned to Capernaum?  It’s because Capernaum is known as the place that Jesus treated as his hub or his base when his public ministry began. 

Mark 2:2-4 (NIV)
2  So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
3  Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.
4  Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.
 
On verses 2-4:  Here’s one of my favourite leadership equations, coined by Pastor Craig Groeschel:  Passion + Limited Resources + A Willingness to Fail = Innovation.

何等恩典

2022-11-10 in , /by

箴言30:21   使地震動的有三樣，連地擔不起的共有四樣。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:21-23

21使地震動的有三樣，連地擔不起的共有四樣，22就是僕人做王，愚頑人吃飽，23醜惡的女子出嫁，婢女接續主母。

這亞古珥也太幽默了一些，這些事情在現代人眼中，好像不算什麼，因為經常發生在我們眼前。但我相信，在古時候，這些事真是會讓人驚訝得幾乎下巴都要跌下來了！使地震動表示連地都感到震驚，太不可思議了！因為地是承受一切的，人的活動有何事能逃過地的“眼睛”。我們千萬不要以為地是毫無知覺的，神曾告訴以色列人，“在你們以先居住那地的人行了這一切可憎惡的事，地就玷污了—— 免得你們玷污那地的時候，地就把你們吐出，像吐出在你們以先的國民一樣”（利18:27-28）。所以當亞古珥說地會震動時，表示那些事前所未有，不曾聽過，實在駭人。

但是現在我們看了很多，也聽了很多類似的事，可見世界已經變化到一個地步，這些事情我們都見怪不怪了。第一件是僕人作王，畢牧師譯為：when the janitor becomes the boss，當掃地的變成老板。這事有什麼奇怪呢？只要發奮圖強，沒有受過高等教育白手起家的人很多，而且許多成功的企業家出身都很貧賤，有很多擺過地攤、掃地洗廁所也可以闖出一番事業的。

The Touch of Your Hand

2022-11-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 1:40-45.  Let’s go!

Mark 1:40-42 (NIV)
40  A man with leprosy came to him and begged him on his knees, “If you are willing, you can make me clean.”
41  Filled with compassion, Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!”
42  Immediately the leprosy left him and he was cured.
 
On verses 40-42:  When the leper cried out to Jesus for help, Jesus showed that he was full of compassion as well as the power to heal.  What touches me most is the way Jesus healed this leper: he touched him. 

神那測不透的奇妙

2022-11-09 in , /by

箴言30:19   就是鷹在空中飛的道，蛇在磐石上爬的道，船在海中行的道，男與女交合的道。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:18-20

18 我所測不透的奇妙有三樣，連我所不知道的共有四樣， 19 就是鷹在空中飛的道，蛇在磐石上爬的道，船在海中行的道，男與女交合的道。 20 淫婦的道也是這樣，她吃了把嘴一擦，就說：「我沒有行惡。」

在這世上有哪些事讓你想不透呢？你再想想，就會發現不止是三樣或四樣。所以亞古珥是拋磚引玉，要讓我們思想神的作為何等超乎人的智慧，人的罪性又何等愚妄自欺。“我所測不透的奇妙”，《現代中文譯本》譯為：神祕莫測的事，《思高譯本》譯為：令我稱奇的事，《呂振中譯本》譯為：奇妙事超乎我的智力之外。

我們現在有Discovery （探索頻道）出的視頻，向我們解釋很多生物界的奇妙現象。但是以前的人沒有這樣方便的管道，因此要想破頭也無法明白。有個人住在香港一間公寓的37樓，經常會看到大麻鷹在空中盤旋。經過長期的觀察，他發現麻鷹的飛行方法很像一隻紙鳶。

螞蟥世代

2022-11-08 in , /by

箴言30:15   螞蟥有兩個女兒，常說：「給呀！給呀！」有三樣不知足的，連不說夠的共有四樣。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:15-17

15螞蟥有兩個女兒，常說：「給呀！給呀！」有三樣不知足的，連不說夠的共有四樣，16就是陰間和石胎，浸水不足的地，並火。(新譯本：就是陰間、不能生育的婦人、水源不足之地和總不說『夠了』的火。)17 戲笑父親，藐視而不聽從母親的，他的眼睛必為谷中的烏鴉啄出來，為鷹雛所吃。

螞蟥世代

「螞蟥有兩個女兒，常說，給呀給呀。」(箴言三十：15)

螞蟥是水蛭，吸血維生，經常在溪流、水田等潮溼的地方活動。吸血的方式是口部有兩個吸孔，貼住動物或人的表皮，從微血管吸血。螞蟥吸血容量，可到身體的4-5倍，能將身體吸到脹起來。吸一次血，可維持2-3個月的食物量，甚至撐半年，再等下一次的機會。

上 帝在此提醒我們，與人相處，不是像螞蟥，將人吸乾，自己得飽足。有些媒體就像螞蟥，抓到一個人，將其吸乾，毀了對方才放掉，媒體的暴力本質，比所放的暴力 節目更血腥。可怕的是，觀眾也像螞蟥推導媒體朝這方向去，變成一堆螞蟥在吸媒體，媒體又去找獵物，供大家病態式的取樂，情緒性的滿足。

Face Time with the Father

2022-11-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs!  

Today’s passage is Mark 1:29-39.  Let’s go!

Mark 1:29-31 (NIV)
29  As soon as they left the synagogue, they went with James and John to the home of Simon and Andrew.
30  Simon’s mother-in-law was in bed with a fever, and they told Jesus about her.
31  So he went to her, took her hand and helped her up. The fever left her and she began to wait on them.
 
On verses 29-31:  In Mark 1:21-22, we saw Jesus’ power to teach God’s Word.  In Mark 1:23-27 we saw Jesus’ power to drive out evil spirits.  Now in Mark 1:29-34 we see Jesus’ power to heal the sick, beginning with Simon’s mother-in-law.   
 
Notice how Simon’s mother-in-law responded after Jesus healed her: “she began to wait on them” (v31), that is, to serve Jesus and his team.  The same should be our response to Jesus as well after we witness and experience Jesus’ power in our lives.  May we not be consumers who just keep wanting more and more things from Jesus, treating him like our servant.  Rather, like Peter’s mother-in-law, may our response be to serve Jesus and His followers rather than always wanting to be served.

The G.O.A.T.

2022-11-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 1:21-28.  Let’s go!

Mark 1:21-22 (NIV)
21  They went to Capernaum, and when the Sabbath came, Jesus went into the synagogue and began to teach.
22  The people were amazed at his teaching, because he taught them as one who had authority, not as the teachers of the law.

On verses 21-22:  Jesus was far more than just a teacher, but what a teacher he was.  There was something about Jesus’ teachings that carried weight and “authority” that other teachers of the time did not have (v22).  Not only did Jesus amaze people with His teachings when Jesus walked this earth, but two thousand years later no one else’s teachings have ever come close to having the impact that Jesus’ teachings have had and still have.  When it comes to our sins, Jesus is our sacrificial lamb, and when it comes to teaching humanity, Jesus is the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time).  So when you open your Bible and read Jesus’ teachings, remember that you are reading the most precious, brilliant and powerful teachings that there have ever been. The most important and powerful words you can cling to are Jesus’ words.

跳出以自我為中心的人生

2022-11-07 in , /by

箴言30:10  你不要向主人讒謗僕人，恐怕他咒詛你，你便算為有罪。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:10-14

10你不要向主人讒謗僕人，恐怕他咒詛你，你便算為有罪。11有一宗人，咒詛父親，不給母親祝福。12有一宗人，自以為清潔，卻沒有洗去自己的污穢。13有一宗人，眼目何其高傲，眼皮也是高舉。14有一宗人，牙如劍，齒如刀，要吞滅地上的困苦人和世間的窮乏人。

新譯本： “不要向主人誹謗他的僕人，恐怕他咒詛你，你就判為有罪。有一種人咒詛父親，又不給母親祝福。有一種人自以為清潔，卻沒有洗去自己的污穢。有一種人眼目多麼高傲，他們的眼睛，長在頂上。 有一種人牙如劍，齒如刀，要吞滅地上的困苦人和世人中的貧窮人。

在這段經文裡，亞古珥讓我們看到五種人，這五種人有一個共通的特點，便是自私自利和自以為是，應該可以說就是以自我為中心。第一種人向主人誹謗他的僕人，也就是打小報告。這種人覺得別人做得不好，深怕主人不知道，便打小報告，要讓主人以為他很為主人著想。他也是僕人，但是要踩著別人的脊樑往上爬，不是靠實力，而是靠告發他人，以贏取上司的喜悅。他在背後踩人，人家自然討厭他，咒詛他。在神的面前，這種人算為有罪。

Don’t Get Stuck in “Preparation Mode”

2022-11-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today we begin the Gospel of Mark.  Though the author does not identify himself in this gospel, early church writers unanimously claim Mark (also known as John Mark – see for example Acts 12:12, 25) as the author, which in some respects would be a strange choice if it were not true.  Mark was a close co-worker of Jesus’ disciple Peter, whom Peter even calls “my son” (1 Peter 5:13).  Thus many scholars believe that Mark wrote his gospel based at least in part on the eyewitness testimony of Peter.  It is also believed by many scholars that Mark wrote this gospel while in Rome between approximately 57 and 63 A.D. (although some scholars have suggested an earlier date).  Shortly after this Emperor Nero would begin his severe persecution of the church in Rome, which as tradition holds is where Peter eventually would die a martyr’s death.

Many scholars agree that the gospel of Mark was probably the first of the New Testament gospels to be written and was an important reference book for Matthew and Luke to refer to when they wrote their gospels.

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

亞古珥求兩件事

2022-11-06 in , /by

箴言30:8  求祢使虛假和謊言遠離我；使我也不貧窮也不富足，賜給我需用的飲食。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:7-8

7我求你兩件事，在我未死之先不要不賜給我：8求你使虛假和謊言遠離我；使我也不貧窮也不富足，賜給我需用的飲食。9恐怕我飽足不認你，說：「耶和華是誰呢？」又恐怕我貧窮就偷竊，以致褻瀆我神的名。

托爾斯泰曾經寫了一個寓言收在《呆子伊凡》這本故事集裡，名字叫做〈魔鬼與農夫〉。話說有個老魔鬼看到人的生活實在太幸福了，便想去擾亂一下，盡盡做魔鬼的本份。他派了一個小魔鬼去打一個農夫，因為那個農夫每天殷勤工作，所得卻甚少，卻十分快樂滿足。

小魔鬼就去把農夫的田地變硬，讓農夫挖土挖得很辛苦。但是農夫並未因此而抱怨，只是更殷勤地敲打地，小魔鬼失敗地走了。大魔鬼派第二個小魔鬼去，小魔鬼心想農夫不怕工作辛苦，但是沒有體力就不行了吧？於是牠偷走農夫的麵包跟水。沒想到農夫找不到麵包跟水，說：“不曉得哪個可憐的人比我更需要那塊麵包跟水？如果這些東西就能讓他得溫飽的話，那就好了。”於是小魔鬼又逃走了。