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Savor the Spirit

2025-12-24 in /by

I’m reflecting today on one stunning thought. The world was different this week. We forgot our compulsion with winning, wooing, and warring. We looked out toward the star of Bethlehem. More than in any other season, his name was on our lips.

And the result? For a few precious hours our heavenly yearnings intermeshed and we became a chorus. “Come and behold him” we sang, stirring even the sleepiest of shepherds and pointing them toward the Christ-child. Immanuel. He is with us. God came near.

Soon December’s generosity will become January’s payments, and the magic will begin to fade. I want to savor the spirit just a bit more. To pray that those who beheld him today will look for him next August. How much more could we do if we thought of him every day.

紀念道成肉身

2025-12-24 in , /by

約翰福音 6:47-48  我實實在在地告訴你們：信的人有永生。 48 我就是生命的糧。 

約翰福音 6:63  叫人活著的乃是靈，肉體是無益的。我對你們所說的話就是靈，就是生命。

讓我們先從一個略顯沉重的觀察開始：聖經並沒有提供耶穌確切出生日期的確鑿證據。那麼，早期基督徒是如何得出12月25日這個結論的呢？

答案在於猶太神學思想與早期基督教推測的融合。教會借鑒了猶太傳統（例如，《猶太新年》10b-11a），認為時間是循環的，一位偉大人物的受孕和死亡在宇宙中可能存在某種關聯。被認為是拉丁教父和西方基督教神學鼻祖之一的特土良（約公元160-220年）聲稱知道耶穌的死亡日期（3月25日，尼散月十四日），並據此推斷耶穌的受孕也發生在同一天。

邏輯很簡單：如果耶穌受孕於3月25日，那麼他的出生日期就在9個月後，大約是12月25日。這種推算展現了早期基督徒用來推論耶穌誕生的神學推理。它也恰好與1月1日的割禮節吻合，根據猶太曆，割禮節是在耶穌誕生後第八天慶祝的。

聖誕節的形成與後來基督教化的羅馬帝國截然不同。在公元4世紀到6世紀之間，教會領袖確實重新詮釋了一些現有的節日（包括像農神節這樣的仲冬慶祝活動），但這發生在12月25日被提議之後很久。早期的基督徒仍遭受迫害，與主流文化格格不入，他們並非採納異教習俗，而是與異教劃清界線。

以馬內利

2025-12-23 in , /by

以賽亞書 7:14   因此，主自己要給你們一個兆頭，必有童女懷孕生子，給祂起名叫以馬內利。

馬太福音 1:22-23   這一切的事成就，是要應驗主藉先知所說的話說：23 「必有童女懷孕生子，人要稱他的名為以馬內利。」（「以馬內利」翻出來就是「神與我們同在」。）

這是一個真實故事：在1994年，有兩個美國宣教士應邀到蘇聯的一個孤兒院，與他們共度聖誕。在那個孤兒院裡，多是被遺棄或虐待，甚至沒人要的殘障小孩。

那年，他們第一次聽到聖誕節的故事，聽到因為神愛世人，讓耶穌降生在馬槽裡。說完故事之後，宣教士請孩子們用他們帶去的黃色紙巾剪出一絲絲的紙條，放在宣教士帶去的小紙盒裡，做成一個個的馬槽。然後讓孩子們在一張小紙頭上畫下嬰孩耶穌，把他放進馬槽裡。

宣教士們輪流去看每個孩子的成品，發現有個大約六歲的小孩在馬槽裡放了兩個小嬰孩。宣教士請翻譯員來問他為何是兩個？那個小孩說：“當馬利亞要把耶穌放進馬槽時，耶穌問我有沒有地方住。祂說，假如我沒有地方住，可以跟祂一起睡在馬槽裡。我跟祂說，我不像別人一樣有禮物可送給祂。但是我很想跟耶穌在一起，所以我就拚命想，後來想到我的身體可以讓祂覺得溫暖。

Such A Thing To Do

2025-12-23 in /by

The God of the universe was born into the poverty of a peasant and spent his first night in the cows’ feed trough. He left the glory of heaven and moved into our neighborhood. Who could have imagined he would do such a thing?

What a world he left. Our classiest mansion would be a tree trunk to him. God became a one-celled embryo and entered the womb of Mary. He became like us. Just look at the places he was willing to go: feed troughs, carpentry shops, badlands, and cemeteries. The places he went to reach us show how far he will go to touch us. He loves to be with the ones he loves.

聖誕樹與馬丁路德

2025-12-22 in , /by

約翰福音 6:40  我父的旨意是要一切見子而信的人得永生，並且在末日我要叫他復活。

約翰福音 3:36  信子的人有永生；不信子的人得不着永生，神的震怒常在他身上。

聖誕樹是聖誕節最廣為人知的象徵物。今天從各個教會，到各大城市的公共廣場、百貨公司的大廳裡都有它的蹤影。但是你知道今天我們看到上有伯利恆之星、掛滿各種飾品的聖誕樹，最早是宗教改革的發起人馬丁路得做出來的嗎？

聖誕樹最早可以追溯到古代歐洲維京人與日耳曼人的樹木崇拜信仰，他們認為長青樹木象徵永恆的生命力。後來各民族歸信基督教後，他們將長青樹轉為永生的象徵。中世紀日耳曼地區演出有關亞當夏娃故事的戲劇裡，有一棵掛滿蘋果的杉樹，被認為是聖誕樹的原形。

A Moment Like No Other

2025-12-22 in /by

It was an ordinary night with ordinary sheep and ordinary shepherds. Then the black sky exploded with brightness. Trees that had been shadows jumped into clarity. Sheep that had been silent became a chorus of curiosity. One minute the shepherd was dead asleep, the next he was rubbing his eyes and staring into the face of an angel! The night was ordinary no more. The angel came in the night because it’s when lights are best seen, and when they are most needed.

It all happened in a most remarkable moment—a moment like no other. God became a man. Divinity arrived. Heaven opened and place her most precious one in a human womb. God had come near.

In the mystery of Christmas, we find its majesty. The mystery of how God became flesh, why he chose to come at all, and how much he must love his people.

馬槽

2025-12-21 in , /by

路加福音 2:11-12  因今天在大衛的城裡，為你們生了救主，就是主基督。你們要看見一個嬰孩，包著布，臥在馬槽裡，那就是記號了。」

你知道嗎？耶穌降生時，馬槽並非隨意放置，而是意義非凡的記號。

大多數人想像的是一個安靜馬厩裡柔軟的木製搖籃。但在公元一世紀的以色列，馬槽通常是用石頭雕刻而成。堅硬、冰冷、耐用，是為了承載珍貴的生命，並保護它免受傷害。僅僅這一點就足以改變人們的想像。這並非為了舒適，而是為了特定的目的。

伯利恆並非偶然選址。那裡以飼養用於聖殿獻祭的羔羊而聞名。當地的牧羊人深知什麼樣的羔羊才能蒙神悅納。一隻毫無瑕疵的羔羊必須受到保護，保持潔淨，並且完好無損地保存下來。任何受損的羔羊都會被淘汰。完美至關重要。

現在，請用全新的視角閱讀路加福音第二章。當天使宣告彌賽亞降生時，這個記號是專門賜給牧羊人的：「你們會看見一個嬰孩，用布包著，躺在馬槽裡。」這個細節並非為了詩意的表達。這是為了彰顯身份。牧羊人明白，當珍貴的生命被安置在馬槽中尋求庇護時，這意味著什麼。他們知道，這絕非尋常之子。

His Kingdom Will Never End

2025-12-21 in /by

In Bethlehem, the human being who best understood who God was and what he was doing was a teenage girl in a smelly stable. As Mary looked into the face of the baby, she saw her son, her Lord, his majesty—she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Somehow Mary knew she was holding God. So this is he she thought. She remembered the words of the angel: “His kingdom will never end.”

He looked like anything but a King. His cry, though strong and healthy, was still the helpless and piercing cry of a baby. Majesty in the midst of mundane. Holiness in the filth of sheep manure and sweat. Divinity entering the world on the floor of a stable, through the womb of a teenager, and in the presence of a carpenter. God came near. And as Luke 1:33 says, “His kingdom will never end.”

希望之歌

2025-12-19 in , /by

路加福音 1: 32-33 祂要為大，稱為至高者的兒子；主神要把他祖大衛的位給祂， 33 祂要做雅各家的王，直到永遠；祂的國也沒有窮盡。」

路加福音2:13-14 忽然有一大隊天兵，同那天使讚美神說： 「在至高之處榮耀歸於神！在地上平安歸於祂所喜悅的人！」

曾有一段日子，當時兩個孩子還小，聖誕節對我來說並不是喜氣洋洋的節慶。在街上洋溢的歡呼聲裡，我的心反倒沉了下來。想到耶穌降生的目的，竟是要走向十字架、走向殘酷的死亡，這如何教人歡欣呢？！

我抱著孩子時，想著：若是我的孩子，從嬰孩一路撫育成人，到了三十三歲就被掛在十字架上受死，那會是何等撕裂心肺的痛？想到這裡，聖誕節對我而言並不是慶祝，而像是一種提前看見受苦的預告，我也不明白為教會佈置聖誕裝飾的意義何在？！

When Hope Was Born

2025-12-19 in /by

When Christ was born, so was our hope. This is why I love Christmas. The event invites us to believe the wildest of promises: He did away with every barrier, fence, sin, bent, debt, and grave. Anything that might keep us from him was demolished. He only awaits our word to walk through the door. Invite him in, escort him to the seat of honor, and pull out his chair. Clear the table; clear the calendar. Call the kids and neighbors. Christmas is here. Christ is here.

One request from you, and God will do again what he did then: scatter the night with everlasting light. He’ll be born in you. Let “Silent Night” be sung. Every heart can be a manger. Every day can be a Christmas. The Christmas miracle—a yearlong celebration!