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Pride Before the Fall, Humility Before Honor

2022-10-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Daniel 4:19-37.  Let’s go!

Daniel 4:19-27 (NIV)
19  Then Daniel (also called Belteshazzar) was greatly perplexed for a time, and his thoughts terrified him. So the king said, “Belteshazzar, do not let the dream or its meaning alarm you.” Belteshazzar answered, “My lord, if only the dream applied to your enemies and its meaning to your adversaries!
20  The tree you saw, which grew large and strong, with its top touching the sky, visible to the whole earth,
21  with beautiful leaves and abundant fruit, providing food for all, giving shelter to the beasts of the field, and having nesting places in its branches for the birds of the air–

On verses 19-27:  In Daniel 1 we saw how God gifted Daniel with the ability to understand visions and dreams of all kinds (Daniel 1:17).  In Daniel 2 we saw how God gifted Daniel with the ability to know what King Nebuchadnezzar was dreaming, which might be called a prophetic gift or a word of knowledge.  Here in Daniel 4, we see Daniel not only being able to understand and interpret King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream; even more we see evangelist Daniel calling Nebuchadnezzar to repentance. 

關說不關說

2022-10-18 in , /by

箴言28:21    看人的情面乃為不好，人因一塊餅枉法也為不好。

閱讀經文：箴言 28:21-23

21看人的情面乃為不好，人因一塊餅枉法也為不好。22人有惡眼想要急速發財，卻不知窮乏必臨到他身。23責備人的後來蒙人喜悅，多於那用舌頭諂媚人的。

關說不關說

「看人的情面乃為不好，人因一塊餅枉法也為不好」(箴言二十八:21)。

這是在人的社會裡極為尋常的一件事。有位外科醫生說在醫院裡，經常病人才排了開刀日期，就會有好多人打電話來，說病人的兒子是警官、女婿是議員、姪子是里長，等等，讓他煩不勝煩。到醫院關說的事很多，例如：希望早一點入病房、排第一台刀、掛早一點的號、早一點出院，也有人希望晚一點出院，有人希望住健保房，當然也有人希望住頭等房，所以什麼願望都有。很多人都說要打倒特權，要求平等；但是關說最厲害的，也就是提倡要打倒特權的人。

你知道後來這件事怎樣解決嗎？一個老醫生教他“一口答應”，但是“刀還是照樣開，藥還是照樣用”。有很多地方是用“錢”來做情面。但是不管看什麼情面做事，都是偏心，對另一些人就造成了傷害。所以即使為一塊餅而枉法也不好，因為這法是神所立的。所以寧可把事情交在神的手裡，讓祂成全；因為你以為關說一定有幫助，但是很可能人家只是跟你虛與偽蛇。

God’s Love Is Pursuing You

2022-10-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Daniel 4:1-18.  Let’s go!

Daniel 4:1-18 (NIV)
1  King Nebuchadnezzar, To the peoples, nations and men of every language, who live in all the world: May you prosper greatly!
2  It is my pleasure to tell you about the miraculous signs and wonders that the Most High God has performed for me.
3  How great are his signs, how mighty his wonders! His kingdom is an eternal kingdom; his dominion endures from generation to generation.
4  I, Nebuchadnezzar, was at home in my palace, contented and prosperous…

On verses 1-18:  We’ll get to the lesson behind King Nebuchadnezzar’s dream when we look at verses 19-37 tomorrow.  In the meantime, with my wild imagination I could imagine King Nebuchadnezzar sharing this testimony from the stage of Thrive Church.   The fact that this is the second dream that God gave Nebuchadnezzar as recorded in the book of Daniel really highlights for me how much God pursued Nebuchadnezzar. 

都是為了急速發財

2022-10-17 in , /by

箴言28:18    行動正直的必蒙拯救，行事彎曲的立時跌倒。

閱讀經文：箴言 28:18-20

18行動正直的必蒙拯救，行事彎曲的立時跌倒。19耕種自己田地的必得飽食，追隨虛浮的足受窮乏。20誠實人必多得福，想要急速發財的不免受罰。

外子曾經提及，他在大學時參加的團契，有次為了某種需要而不斷求神幫助。你猜猜看，神怎樣回應他們的禱告呢？在他們去抽獎時，給他們抽中一個存錢筒。天父的幽默感令人莞爾。有時候我們想到有需要就向神呼求，卻忘了自己也有努力的責任。生活裡總會有金錢的需要，那麼我們有什麼責任呢？

今天的三節經文看起來像是分開的，實際上卻都一致地指向一個教導：要以誠實正直的方法取得所需，不要想急速發財，因為走捷徑，難免誤入歧途。看看新聞，便知道那些行事彎曲的人，莫不為了急速發財，以致身敗名裂，賠了夫人又折兵。

想急速發財，行事必然彎曲，追隨虛浮的做法。例如，有很多人喜歡買名牌。在台灣有位商人魚目混珠，自己一身真的名牌，但是貨品裡卻真假參雜，十年來騙了約卅名以上的經銷商。也有人去淘寶買一堆假貨，再到網路上說是真貨便宜賣。很多人受騙而不自知。但是這種作法遲早會被發現，就像那位不法商人被抓一樣。這便是想要急速發財，行事彎曲的後果，難免受罰。

God Is With You In The Fire

2022-10-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Daniel 3:16-30.  Let’s go!

Daniel 3:16-18 (NIV)
16  Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego replied to the king, “O Nebuchadnezzar, we do not need to defend ourselves before you in this matter.
17  If we are thrown into the blazing furnace, the God we serve is able to save us from it, and he will rescue us from your hand, O king.
18  But even if he does not, we want you to know, O king, that we will not serve your gods or worship the image of gold you have set up.”

On verses 16-18:  Despite King Nebuchadnezzar threatening to throw them into blazing furnace, Shadrach, Meshach and Abednego refuse to bow down to the image the king had set up.

What can we learn from this?  When the commands of human leaders directly conflict with the command of God, we must courageously choose to obey God.

暴虐的君專制如獅熊

2022-10-16 in , /by

箴言28:15    暴虐的君王轄制貧民，好像吼叫的獅子、覓食的熊。

閱讀經文：箴言 28:15-17

15暴虐的君王轄制貧民，好像吼叫的獅子、覓食的熊。16無知的君多行暴虐，以貪財為可恨的必年長日久。17背負流人血之罪的必往坑裡奔跑，誰也不可攔阻他。

專制如獅熊

「暴虐的君王轄制貧民，好像吼叫的獅子，覓食的熊。」(箴言二十八：15)。

暴虐式的管理，第一個特徵是在公眾的場合，以狂吼恫嚇人，以咆哮叫人害怕，以威脅令人害怕，如同獅子的攻擊。

第二個特徵是尋覓人的細處，抓住人的隱密，拿到人的弱點。將人視為獵物，如熊的追逐，這稱為「覓食的熊」。「覓食」是個獨特的用詞，是帶著饑餓與貪婪，前後左右細細的找。

在歷史上，人類為了強大，必須成為大國。大國人多不好管理，經常採用專制。專制者的真相是殘忍，使用強大的軍隊；經常多疑，使用眾多的密探，控制百姓。結 果傷害、破壞、反抗等，接續產生。不幸的是，人類為了安全，又選了暴虐的君王。人類為什麼不選擇上帝，成為他們的王呢？（張文亮教授）

Worship Out of Love, Not Fear

2022-10-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Daniel 3:1-15.  Let’s go!

Daniel 3:1-7 (NIV)
1  King Nebuchadnezzar made an image of gold, ninety feet high and nine feet wide, and set it up on the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
2  He then summoned the satraps, prefects, governors, advisers, treasurers, judges, magistrates and all the other provincial officials to come to the dedication of the image he had set up.

On verses 1-7:  Did King Nebuchadnezzar command all of his government officials to worship this colossal image because Nebuchadnezzar himself loved and worshiped this image?  Not necessarily.  A good argument can be made that Nebuchadnezzar’s command had less to do with worship and more to do with Nebuchadnezzar testing the loyalty of his government officials.  Thus we don’t even learn the name of this image; instead, it is repeatedly referred to as the image that Nebuchadnezzar had set up. 

常存敬畏的便為有福

2022-10-14 in , /by

箴言28:14    常存敬畏的便為有福，心存剛硬的必陷在禍患裡。

閱讀經文：箴言 28:11-14

11富足人自以為有智慧，但聰明的貧窮人能將他查透。12義人得志，有大榮耀；惡人興起，人就躲藏。13遮掩自己罪過的必不亨通，承認、離棄罪過的必蒙憐恤。14常存敬畏的便為有福，心存剛硬的必陷在禍患裡。

11富足人自以為有智慧，但聰明的貧窮人能將他查透。

富足人為何會自以為有智慧呢？可否以勞資雙方的關係來看呢？因為資方都是有錢的大老板，勞方都是比較窮的打工仔。以前的勞方對資方唯命是從，任其剝削，是不是因為窮人笨呢？我們來看看現在勞資雙方的談判，就曉得不是勞方笨，只是勞方有時為了生活需要，不得不屈居下風。現在勞方有工會了，爭取權益，使工作和生活有保障。所以聰明的窮人若團結一致，有錢的人也不能不行使“公義”的作法了。雖然是被勉強出來的，合約中規定的，但有總比沒有好。

Why God Allows Crisis and Miracles

2022-10-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Daniel 2:31-49.  Let’s go!

Daniel 2:31-38 (NIV)
31  “You looked, O king, and there before you stood a large statue–an enormous, dazzling statue, awesome in appearance.
32  The head of the statue was made of pure gold, its chest and arms of silver, its belly and thighs of bronze,
33  its legs of iron, its feet partly of iron and partly of baked clay.

On verses 37-38:  Daniel recognizes that God is the giver of all power and authority.  As powerful as King Nebuchadnezzar was, Daniel recognized that King Nebuchadnezzar would not have such power or authority if it weren’t for God.  Likewise, any authority or power we have is because God, the giver of all power and authority, allowed us to have it.  So let’s exercise the power and authority we have with humility and a healthy fear of (respect for) God.