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人口中的言語如同深水

2022-07-05 in , /by

〈箴言〉18:4  人口中的言語如同深水，智慧的泉源好像湧流的河水。

閱讀經文：箴言18:1-4

1與眾寡合的，獨自尋求心願，並惱恨一切真智慧。 2 愚昧人不喜愛明哲，只喜愛顯露心意。 3 惡人來，藐視隨來；羞恥到，辱罵同到。 4 人口中的言語如同深水，智慧的泉源好像湧流的河水。

與眾寡合的，獨自尋求心願，並惱恨一切真智慧。 Loners who care only for themselves spit on the common good. 《The Message》

在電影或小說裡，經常都抬舉單刀獨鬥的英雄或英雌，例如超人、蝙蝠俠、蜘蛛人，等等。但是在現實裡，一個人根本無法成就什麼事情，因為生活裡大家環環相扣，要一起尋求眾人的福利，而不是個人的名聲。即使是總統或王室，有什麼事情是一個人能解決的？

可能你會說，我可以自食其力。自食其力時要去工作，工作是公司請你，但是你只是其中的一份子，有的外銷，有的籌劃，有的負責廣告，有的做產品設計，少了你一個，還有別人頂上來；若是沒有其他同事，你一個人能做什麼？你會煮菜，自己做飯吃。也需要有人種稻、種菜，挑出來賣，還有各樣調味品，沒有其他人的配合，就是巧婦難為無米炊。

所以這節經文告訴我們，要和眾人一起合作，才能在當中併發出真智慧，合乎眾人的需要。所以不要妄自尊大，也不要故步自封，學習傾聽，活到老學到老。

Partying, Justice and True Worship

2022-07-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 16:13-22.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 16:13-15 (NIV)
13  Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.
14  Be joyful at your Feast–you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.
15  For seven days celebrate the Feast to the LORD your God at the place the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.

On verses 13-15:  What does the Feast of Tabernacles tell you about God and His purpose for our lives?  To understand the purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles and how it relates to us today, click HERE. 

Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (NIV)
16  Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed:
17  Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.

不說意見不表示呆

2022-07-04 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:28   愚昧人若靜默不言，也可算為智慧；閉口不說，也可算為聰明。

閱讀經文：箴言17:26-28

26刑罰義人為不善，責打君子為不義。27寡少言語的有知識，性情溫良的有聰明。28愚昧人若靜默不言，也可算為智慧；閉口不說，也可算為聰明。

刑罰義人為不善，責打君子為不義。It’s wrong to penalize good behavior,  or make good citizens pay for the crimes of others.《The Message》

在這個社會，我們經常會聽到不公義的事情發生。例如，有人為了去扶起一個跌倒在馬路上的老婦人，卻反而被控告是使老婦人跌倒者，還要賠償。最近讀到一位台灣醫生寫的一篇短文，有位老翁死了，他的女兒拿了一大袋的藥物退還給醫生。原來老翁生前每週按時領藥，卻從不吃藥，連打開都沒有，就這樣，很多昂貴的藥就給浪費了。因為患者必須付的錢很少，所以很多人就覺得不拿白不拿，拿了就往抽屜一丟，下次再去拿。每年有上百噸藥品被扔進垃圾桶，造成極大的浪費。這樣的情況造成健保的惡性循環，錢永遠不夠。少數不浪費的人要承擔多數不負責任的人造成的損失，最後也是一起受害，因為將來藥費一定上漲。

How Should Christians Today Celebrate Passover and Pentecost?

2022-07-04 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 16:1-12.  Let’s go!

In Deuteronomy 16:1-12, Moses describes to the current generation of Israelites two of the three most important feasts in the Jewish calendar: Passover (also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread) and Pentecost (also known as the Feast of Weeks).  

Deuteronomy 16:1-8 (NIV)
1  Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night.
2  Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name.
3  Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste–so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.
4  Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning.
5  You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the LORD your God gives you
6  except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt.
7  Roast it and eat it at the place the LORD your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents.
8  For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the LORD your God and do no work.
 
On verses 1-8:  Why don’t Christians celebrate Passover today in the way Deuteronomy 16:1-8 talks about?  It’s because we now have something even greater than Passover to remember and observe:  Jesus Christ, His death and His resurrection — also known as Easter.  

You’re Blessed with the Best

2022-07-03 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 15:12-23.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 15:12-15 (NIV)
12  If a fellow Hebrew, a man or a woman, sells himself to you and serves you six years, in the seventh year you must let him go free.
13  And when you release him, do not send him away empty-handed.
14  Supply him liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress. Give to him as the LORD your God has blessed you.
15  Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and the LORD your God redeemed you. That is why I give you this command today.
 
On verses 12-15:  Moses tells the Israelites to be gracious to a servant who leaves them after several years of service. He tells the Israelites to “supply them liberally from your flock, your threshing floor and your winepress.” (v14)  Applied to us today, when a person has served you well for a long time, instead of bitterly grieving their departure or indifferently letting them go, go out of your way to honour and bless that person.  Celebrate the ways you are better off because of them and bless them liberally.  Be gracious to them as God has been gracious to you.  When we send people off this way, we will be blessed as well (see v18).

以身作則

2022-07-03 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:23   惡人暗中受賄賂，為要顛倒判斷。

閱讀經文：箴言17:23-25

23惡人暗中受賄賂，為要顛倒判斷。24明哲人眼前有智慧，愚昧人眼望地極。25愚昧子使父親愁煩，使母親憂苦。

第23節：惡人暗中受賄賂，為要顛倒判斷

講到賄賂，華人最有這方面的親身體驗了。從古時候的官場到現代的賄賂，莫不是在用錢辦事，沒有錢就寸步難行。何謂賄賂？維基百科提供了一些例子：政界人物在選舉宣傳時向團體提供特殊利益，以取得其支持（意即賄選）；唱片公司向電台的DJ賄賂，以換取旗下歌手的歌曲能播出更多。美國著名的搖滾愛好者、DJ Alan Freed（1921-1965）便因多次受賄而變得聲名狼藉，沒重要的電台肯聘用他，最後因酗酒帶來的疾病而死。印度在早期「許可證」經濟政策時期，也有民眾以賄賂的方式買到「許可證」以期可以買到需要「許可證」才可買到的商品。

God Gives You Accelerated Forgiveness

2022-07-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 15:1-11.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 15:1-3 (NIV)
1  At the end of every seven years you must cancel debts.
2  This is how it is to be done: Every creditor shall cancel the loan he has made to his fellow Israelite. He shall not require payment from his fellow Israelite or brother, because the LORD’s time for canceling debts has been proclaimed.
3  You may require payment from a foreigner, but you must cancel any debt your brother owes you.

On verses 1-3:  Moses instituted a system where every 7 years debts between fellow Israelites were to be canceled.  It was a way to remember and demonstrate God’s grace, as well as to give people a fresh start.  For that is God’s heart for every person: to give them a fresh start.

喜樂的心乃是良藥

2022-07-01 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:22   喜樂的心乃是良藥，憂傷的靈使骨枯乾。

閱讀經文：箴言17:21-22

21生愚昧子的必自愁苦，愚頑人的父毫無喜樂。22喜樂的心乃是良藥，憂傷的靈使骨枯乾。

『喜樂的心乃是良藥』，是聖經中一句有名的話，但您是否知道，根據醫學研究，這句話不僅是一句勸勉的話，更是一句千真萬確、符合科學證據的話！

東方人很早就注意到心理影響生理的現象，所以在中醫的處方中有許多是『身心兼顧』的。而近代西方醫學也發現許多病是『心身症』，例如：偏頭痛、心肌梗塞、胃潰瘍、腸躁症等。每當情緒惡化時，病情也加重；加上現代社會步調快速，壓力大、緊張、焦慮，失眠的人比比皆是。

不可顛倒是非

2022-06-30 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:17   朋友乃時常親愛，弟兄為患難而生。

閱讀經文：箴言17:15-20

15定惡人為義的，定義人為惡的，這都為耶和華所憎惡。16愚昧人既無聰明，為何手拿價銀買智慧呢？17朋友乃時常親愛，弟兄為患難而生。18在鄰舍面前擊掌作保，乃是無知的人。19喜愛爭競的是喜愛過犯，高立家門的乃自取敗壞。20心存邪僻的尋不著好處，舌弄是非的陷在禍患中。

定惡人為義，定義人為惡，便是顛倒是非。其實這句話的本身是要指出，人的判斷往往是不正確的，所以主耶穌教導我們：“你們不要論斷人，免得你們被論斷。（太7:1）”當我們開口論斷人時，我們就已經在定人為義或惡了。對我們好的，有利益的，我們就講好話；對我們不好，有利益衝突的，就定對方為惡。

著名基督教作家楊腓力說，他知道有兩類的假冒為善者，一是完美主義者或自認為誠實的人。因為他從未遇見有人真的盡心、盡力、盡意地愛神，並且愛他（她）的隣舍如同愛自己一樣。他也不認為，完美是現實裡的一個選擇，我們的唯一選擇，就是誠實，在神面前悔改。因為神的恩典可以遮掩人的罪，任何罪。假冒為善徒然使人看不清楚自己需要救恩。當面具摘下來之後，假冒為善便是一條為了逃避救恩而走的坎坷之路。

Since Jesus Gave Up Everything For Us

2022-06-30 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 14:22-29.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 14:22-23 (NIV)
22  Be sure to set aside a tenth of all that your fields produce each year.
23  Eat the tithe of your grain, new wine and oil, and the firstborn of your herds and flocks in the presence of the LORD your God at the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name, so that you may learn to revere the LORD your God always.
 
On verses 22-23:  In Deuteronomy 14:22-29, we learn five reasons why it is important for us to tithe (i.e. set aside a tenth of our income and give it to God at the place – that is, the house of God – where we worship Him).  The first reason we learn from verse 23: By tithing we “learn to revere the LORD your God always” (v23).  Tithing trains us to have an attitude of worship toward God no matter what our circumstances are like.  Tithing is a tool for our own spiritual maturity, training us to put God first in our lives.