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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. 

关说不关说

2022-10-18 in , /by

箴言28:21    看人的情面乃为不好，人因一块饼枉法也为不好。

阅读经文：箴言 28:21-23

21看人的情面乃为不好，人因一块饼枉法也为不好。22人有恶眼想要急速发财，却不知穷乏必临到他身。23责备人的后来蒙人喜悦，多于那用舌头谄媚人的。

关说不关说

「看人的情面乃为不好，人因一块饼枉法也为不好」(箴言二十八:21)。

这是在人的社会里极为寻常的一件事。有位外科医生说在医院里，经常病人才排了开刀日期，就会有好多人打电话来，说病人的儿子是警官、女婿是议员、姪子是里长，等等，让他烦不胜烦。到医院关说的事很多，例如：希望早一点入病房、排第一台刀、挂早一点的号、早一点出院，也有人希望晚一点出院，有人希望住健保房，当然也有人希望住头等房，所以什么愿望都有。很多人都说要打倒特权，要求平等；但是关说最厉害的，也就是提倡要打倒特权的人。

你知道后来这件事怎样解决吗？一个老医生教他“一口答应”，但是“刀还是照样开，药还是照样用”。有很多地方是用“钱”来做情面。但是不管看什么情面做事，都是偏心，对另一些人就造成了伤害。所以即使为一块饼而枉法也不好，因为这法是神所立的。所以宁可把事情交在神的手里，让祂成全；因为你以为关说一定有帮助，但是很可能人家只是跟你虚与伪蛇。

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. 

都是为了急速发财

2022-10-17 in , /by

箴言28:18    行动正直的必蒙拯救，行事弯曲的立时跌倒。

阅读经文：箴言 28:18-20

18行动正直的必蒙拯救，行事弯曲的立时跌倒。19耕种自己田地的必得饱食，追随虚浮的足受穷乏。20诚实人必多得福，想要急速发财的不免受罚。

外子曾经提及，他在大学时参加的团契，有次为了某种需要而不断求神帮助。你猜猜看，神怎样回应他们的祷告呢？在他们去抽奖时，给他们抽中一个存钱筒。天父的幽默感令人莞尔。有时候我们想到有需要就向神呼求，却忘了自己也有努力的责任。生活里总会有金钱的需要，那么我们有什么责任呢？

今天的三节经文看起来像是分开的，实际上却都一致地指向一个教导：要以诚实正直的方法取得所需，不要想急速发财，因为走捷径，难免误入歧途。看看新闻，便知道那些行事弯曲的人，莫不为了急速发财，以致身败名裂，赔了夫人又折兵。

想急速发财，行事必然弯曲，追随虚浮的做法。例如，有很多人喜欢买名牌。在台湾有位商人鱼目混珠，自己一身真的名牌，但是货品里却真假参杂，十年来骗了约卅名以上的经销商。也有人去淘宝买一堆假货，再到网路上说是真货便宜卖。很多人受骗而不自知。但是这种作法迟早会被发现，就像那位不法商人被抓一样。这便是想要急速发财，行事弯曲的后果，难免受罚。

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.

暴虐的君专制如狮熊

2022-10-16 in , /by

箴言28:15    暴虐的君王辖制贫民，好像吼叫的狮子、觅食的熊。

阅读经文：箴言 28:15-17

15暴虐的君王辖制贫民，好像吼叫的狮子、觅食的熊。16无知的君多行暴虐，以贪财为可恨的必年长日久。17背负流人血之罪的必往坑里奔跑，谁也不可拦阻他。

专制如狮熊

「暴虐的君王辖制贫民，好像吼叫的狮子，觅食的熊。」(箴言二十八：15)。

暴虐式的管理，第一个特征是在公众的场合，以狂吼恫吓人，以咆哮叫人害怕，以威胁令人害怕，如同狮子的攻击。

第二个特征是寻觅人的细处，抓住人的隐密，拿到人的弱点。将人视为猎物，如熊的追逐，这称为「觅食的熊」。「觅食」是个独特的用词，是带着饥饿与贪婪，前后左右细细的找。

在历史上，人类为了强大，必须成为大国。大国人多不好管理，经常采用专制。专制者的真相是残忍，使用强大的军队；经常多疑，使用众多的密探，控制百姓。结 果伤害、破坏、反抗等，接续产生。不幸的是，人类为了安全，又选了暴虐的君王。人类为什么不选择上帝，成为他们的王呢？（张文亮教授）

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. 

常存敬畏的便为有福

2022-10-14 in , /by

箴言28:14    常存敬畏的便为有福，心存刚硬的必陷在祸患里。

阅读经文：箴言 28:11-14

11富足人自以为有智慧，但聪明的贫穷人能将他查透。12义人得志，有大荣耀；恶人兴起，人就躲藏。13遮掩自己罪过的必不亨通，承认、离弃罪过的必蒙怜恤。14常存敬畏的便为有福，心存刚硬的必陷在祸患里。

11富足人自以为有智慧，但聪明的贫穷人能将他查透。

富足人为何会自以为有智慧呢？可否以劳资双方的关系来看呢？因为资方都是有钱的大老板，劳方都是比较穷的打工仔。以前的劳方对资方唯命是从，任其剥削，是不是因为穷人笨呢？我们来看看现在劳资双方的谈判，就晓得不是劳方笨，只是劳方有时为了生活需要，不得不屈居下风。现在劳方有工会了，争取权益，使工作和生活有保障。所以聪明的穷人若团结一致，有钱的人也不能不行使“公义”的作法了。虽然是被勉强出来的，合约中规定的，但有总比没有好。

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.