Entries by

It Matters What You Feed On

2022-06-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 14:1-21.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 14:1-2 (NIV)
1  You are the children of the LORD your God. Do not cut yourselves or shave the front of your heads for the dead,
2  for you are a people holy to the LORD your God. Out of all the peoples on the face of the earth, the LORD has chosen you to be his treasured possession.

On verses 1-2:  In Canaanite culture, when a person died, their family would mutilate themselves out of grief and hopelessness, cutting themselves and shaving the fronts of their heads.  Moses told the Israelites that they do not need to grieve this way because “you are the children of the Lord your God” (v1), chosen to be “His treasured possession” (v2). In other words, because the Israelites could have confidence that those who trust in Him will be with Him in eternity, they could grieve with hope.  Similarly, as Christians we are God’s treasured possession.  When a Christian friend dies, we do not need to grieve hopelessly because we have assurance that our friend is now in heaven with God, happier and healthier than they’ve ever been.  Instead of mourning hopelessly, we can grieve with hope, celebrating the fact that through faith in Jesus Christ that person who died has not left home, but gone home.
 

水門打開的時候

2022-06-29 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:14   紛爭的起頭如水放開，所以在爭鬧之先必當止息爭競。

閱讀經文：箴言17:8-14

8賄賂在饋送的人眼中看為寶玉，隨處運動都得順利。9遮掩人過的尋求人愛，屢次挑錯的離間密友。10一句責備話深入聰明人的心，強如責打愚昧人一百下。11惡人只尋背叛，所以必有嚴厲的使者奉差攻擊他。12寧可遇見丟崽子的母熊，不可遇見正行愚妄的愚昧人。13以惡報善的，禍患必不離他的家。14紛爭的起頭如水放開，所以在爭鬧之先必當止息爭競。

賄賂與公務員

國家的法條愈多，收賄賂的公務人員就會愈多。因為解釋法條的權力，在他們的手中。法條要如何執行，在他們的意願。法條要什麼時候執行，在他們的解釋。百姓權力的保障，取捨之間，在公務人員心態的健康。

許多人喜歡當大官，當總統，因為行政架構是他們定，行政權是他們給。

Jesus Took The Fall For Us

2022-06-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 13:1-18.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 13:1-18 (NIV)
1  If a prophet, or one who foretells by dreams, appears among you and announces to you a miraculous sign or wonder,
2  and if the sign or wonder of which he has spoken takes place, and he says, “Let us follow other gods” (gods you have not known) “and let us worship them,”
3  you must not listen to the words of that prophet or dreamer. The LORD your God is testing you to find out whether you love him with all your heart and with all your soul.
4  It is the LORD your God you must follow, and him you must revere. Keep his commands and obey him; serve him and hold fast to him.
5  That prophet or dreamer must be put to death, because he preached rebellion against the LORD your God, who brought you out of Egypt and redeemed you from the land of slavery; he has tried to turn you from the way the LORD your God commanded you to follow. You must purge the evil from among you…….

On verses 1-18:  In ancient Israel, leading a person to worship anyone other than the LORD was considered a capital offense punishable by death.  What are we as Christians to do with a passage like this today?  It’s worth remembering that Jesus Christ died on the cross to pay for all our sins – including all the ways we have ever led others astray, and all the ways we ourselves have been led astray.  When we deserved to die for our sins, Jesus Christ, who was innocent, took the fall for us all.  That way God could turn His fierce anger away from our sins and instead show us mercy and compassion.

父親是兒女的榮耀

2022-06-28 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:6   子孫為老人的冠冕，父親是兒女的榮耀。

閱讀經文：箴言17:4-7

4行惡的留心聽奸詐之言，說謊的側耳聽邪惡之語。 5戲笑窮人的是辱沒造他的主，幸災樂禍的必不免受罰。 6子孫為老人的冠冕，父親是兒女的榮耀。7愚頑人說美言本不相宜，何況君王說謊話呢？

大家都知道“近朱者赤，近墨者黑”這句俗諺；可能也都聽過you are what you eat, 吃啥變啥。我們會注意交什麼朋友，吃什麼東西，但是很少人會警覺自己聽的東西，會直接影響我們的心。眼神會流露出我們的心意，喜歡聽什麼則讓我們明白自己是怎樣的人。所以作者說：“行惡的留心聽奸詐之言，說謊的側耳聽邪惡之語”。Evil people relish malicious conversation; the ears of liars itch for dirty gossip.（The Message）意思是，假如有人喜歡奸詐之言，那麼你要小心，那人可能有時喜歡使詐，做些損人不利己的事。假如有人喜歡聽八卦，聽閒言閒語，那麼他可能不喜歡說真實的話。所以要小心聽的東西，因為它顯出了人內心的真相。說來有趣，偏偏這個社會上賣的最好的就是八卦類的雜誌，每份報紙都有八卦新聞，這也顯示了大多數人的心性。

耶和華熬煉人心

2022-06-27 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:3   鼎為煉銀，爐為煉金，唯有耶和華熬煉人心。

閱讀經文：箴言17:1-3

1設筵滿屋大家相爭，不如有塊乾餅大家相安。 2 僕人辦事聰明，必管轄貽羞之子，又在眾子中同分產業。 3 鼎為煉銀，爐為煉金，唯有耶和華熬煉人心。

筵席的原則堅守

「設筵滿屋，大家相爭」(箴言17:1)。

1990年，我回台灣教書。我兼某研究單位的主管，需要爭取許多的研究計畫。做有些研究案要靠關係，要有關係就要靠喝酒。有次，我去拿某水庫單位的研究案，前提之一，是當幾位主辦人面前，喝下一瓶高粱酒。我勉強喝下那一瓶，案子也沒拿到。

當時植物學系有位基督徒老師，叫潘秦美，她給我許多幫助。她告訴我國家最高研究單位，與藥廠關係緊密，利益糾葛。有次，她陪藥廠主管與對方吃飯，研究所長 強迫她喝酒，說：「來，妳喝這一杯，從此我們是朋友。」潘老師說；「如果要喝這杯，才能做朋友，這種朋友不要也罷。」這句話回的很絕，生意沒了，也少去一 個試探。

潘老師已經安息十多年了，我走過植物系館，遠看她過去的實驗室，替她的家人禱告。近年，那個單位不斷被媒體刊載，在財務上與藥廠有不當往來。其實，說喝這一杯才是朋友時，早已在埋下日後的伏筆。

Food, Finances and Faith

2022-06-27 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 12:15-32.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 12:15-16 (NIV)
15  Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the LORD your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.
16  But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
 
On verses 15-16:  Why were the Israelites prohibited from eating blood?  For more on this see the section below called “On verses 20-27”.
 
Deuteronomy 12:17-19 (NIV)
17  You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.
18  Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose–you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns–and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to.
19  Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.

白髮是榮耀的冠冕

2022-06-26 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:31    白髮是榮耀的冠冕，在公義的道上必能得著。

閱讀經文：箴言16:26-33

26勞力人的胃口使他勞力，因為他的口腹催逼他。27匪徒圖謀奸惡，嘴上彷彿有燒焦的火。28乖僻人播散紛爭，傳舌的離間密友。29強暴人誘惑鄰舍，領他走不善之道。30眼目緊合的圖謀乖僻，嘴唇緊閉的成就邪惡。31白髮是榮耀的冠冕，在公義的道上必能得著。32不輕易發怒的勝過勇士，制伏己心的強如取城。33籤放在懷裡，定事由耶和華

假如我們的肚腹不催促我們，有沒有人會去工作呢？《信息聖經》這樣譯第26節：“Appetite is an incentive to work; hunger makes you work all the harder. 食慾促使人們去工作，饑餓使你工作得更賣力。”在創始的開始，工作本身有可能是很愉快的。因為神叫亞當為野地各樣走獸和空中各樣飛鳥取名字。換成是你的話，你覺得這個工作好不好？這工作看起來容易，其實一點都不簡單。

你只要看看每個父母親為孩子取一個名字都要絞盡腦汁，何況那麼多走獸和飛鳥取名，真是不容易。但也很有趣，可以根據其性情、顏色或形狀去取名字，也很不錯。那時的亞當，腦子裡充滿了創意，也不用擔心肚子餓，伸手就有果子吃。工作本身應該是令人愉快而興奮的。但是在亞當違背了神旳話之後，工作的性質就改變了，是為了滿足肉體的需要而不得不做的事情。饑餓，成為人去工作的動力。為了養活一家人，工作就變成沉重的負擔和壓力。

Holy Ground

2022-06-26 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 12:1-14.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 12:1-3 (NIV)
1  These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess–as long as you live in the land.
2  Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.
3  Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.

On verses 1-3:  Moses tells the Israelites that when they oust out the nations occupying the Promised Land, they are to completely destroy their altars and places of worship.  This sounds harsh and is certainly not a politically correct statement in Western culture today. The lesson for us here is this:  we are to give God uncompromising worship.  Later in the Old Testament, in 2 Kings 23, we read of King Josiah who does exactly what Deuteronomy 12:3 is talking about.  With all the breaking, smashing and tearing down that Josiah does in 2 Kings 23, you’d think that Josiah was a playable character in a Super Mario Bros. video game. 

God’s Call to Give Your All Is Rooted in Love

2022-06-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 10:12-22.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NIV)
12  And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13  and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
 
On verses 12-13:  When you love someone, naturally you want to give all of yourself to that person, and you desire for that person to give all of themselves to you.  That’s why we get pop standards like, “All of me, why not take all of me?  Can’t you see, I’m no good without you”.  That’s why John Legend sings, “Give your all to me, I’ll give my all to you.”  That’s why in Phantom of the Opera, Christine and her lover sing to each other, “Love me…That’s all I ask of you.” 
 
The same goes for God.  Because God loves us, He wants to give all of Himself to us, and in return He wants us to give all of ourselves to Him.  That’s why verse 10 says, “what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul”.  God’s call to give your all is rooted in love.

奔流的水泉

2022-06-24 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:24    良言如同蜂房，使心覺甘甜，使骨得醫治。

閱讀經文：箴言16:21-25

21心中有智慧必稱為通達人，嘴中的甜言加增人的學問。22人有智慧就有生命的泉源，愚昧人必被愚昧懲治。23智慧人的心教訓他的口，又使他的嘴增長學問。24良言如同蜂房，使心覺甘甜，使骨得醫治。25有一條路人以為正，至終成為死亡之路。

講話，是一門很大的學問。我們看到有的人很懂得講話，他一開口，大家都喜歡聽；有的人真的不會講話，說不到三句，大家就想跑了。尤其是在聽道時，若是碰上很有講道恩賜的牧者，真是讓人如沐春風，忘記時間。好像遠志明講道，聽眾的耳朵不知不覺就被吸住了，有好多弟兄姐妹都是因為他的講道而信主。因為他能把道理講得通達，令人心服口服。他也常常以自己的生活為見證，讓大家從他的見證裡，看到自己也有同樣的不是，而願意去改正。當然，他的見證裡充滿幽默，讓大家在笑聲裡體會到他的改變。

所以“嘴中的甜言加增人的學問”，新譯本譯為“動聽的話能增加說服力”。當一個推銷員講得天花亂墬時，聽的人就掏出錢了。在電視上有許多購物的節目，我曾經想看看他們究竟在賣什麼，怎樣賣法。不得了，聽得我都覺得不買不行，不買就虧大了。你看，人家的質地那麼好，價錢那麼便宜，現在立刻買還有加送這個那個，這樣的機會怎能錯過呢？錯過就是笨蛋了。我的信用卡在哪？電話呢？