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野心和异象

2022-06-23 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:18    骄傲在败坏以先，狂心在跌倒之前。

阅读经文：箴言16:16-20

16 得智慧胜似得金子，选聪明强如选银子。 17 正直人的道是远离恶事，谨守己路的是保全性命。 18 骄傲在败坏以先，狂心在跌倒之前。 19 心里谦卑与穷乏人来往，强如将掳物与骄傲人同分。 20 谨守训言的必得好处，倚靠耶和华的便为有福。

这世界上有什么东西可以胜过金银呢？所罗门王在登基后，没有向神求富贵或长寿，只向神求智慧，因而得到神大大的赏赐。他不但拥有了智慧，其他的好处也一并有了。他祈求得太有智慧了。从这件事上，我们看到选智慧的本身就是智慧之举了。但是智慧是什么？神以智慧创造天地，我们怎么可能有那样的智慧？

希腊人也讲究智慧，是理性的智慧；犹太人讲的是神性的智慧，也就是所有的智慧，待人处事的智慧，都是根据神的律法和神所教导的。我们若细读圣经，便会发现其中不仅有理性的智慧，科学的智慧，人文的智慧，无所不包。因为神通晓一切，贯彻一切，祂本身就是智慧。所罗门王说：“敬畏耶和华是智慧的开端”。因为人领用和享用的无一不出自于神，一直居于承恩者的位置，却不懂得敬畏施恩者，那就是极其自大和无知了。有神的同在，胜过金子和银子可带来的好处。

Which Mountain Will You Live On?

2022-06-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 11:22-32.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 11:22-25 (NIV)
22  If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow–to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him–
23  then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.
24  Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the western sea.
25  No man will be able to stand against you. The LORD your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.
 
On verses 22-25:  Whenever you see God making a conditional offer to bless the Israelites if they fully obey God’s commands, let it be a reminder that whereas we completely failed to obey all of God’s commands and were disqualified from God’s blessings, Jesus perfectly obeyed and earned those blessings.  Now, we who live by faith in Jesus Christ can enjoy the blessings that Jesus’ obedience made possible, which includes having victory over an enemy who is much stronger than us (Satan) and being given territory that we never could have earned ourselves (such as a place in God’s kingdom, a ministry to serve in, and God’s family to belong to).  It is Jesus’ perfect obedience that makes God’s blessings possible in our lives.

God’s Superfood for Your Strengthening

2022-06-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

There are a number of good lessons we can learn from today’s passage, Deuteronomy 11:8-21.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 11:8-9 (NIV)
8  Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,
9  and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
 
On verses 8-9:  Moses tells this current generation of Israelites to observe all of God’s commands so that they may have strength to “take over the land” God has for them (v8) and also strength to “live long in the land” that they take over (v9). 
 
Likewise, as followers of Jesus, when we obey God’s commands, it has a strengthening effect on our lives.  Observing God’s commands fills my life with peace, joy and satisfaction. It positions me to receive God’s blessings. It strengthens my faith and my capacity to love God.

怎样做一个好的领导者

2022-06-22 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:11    公道的天平和秤都属耶和华，囊中一切法码都为他所定。

阅读经文：箴言16:10-15

10王的嘴中有神语，审判之时，他的口必不差错。11公道的天平和秤都属耶和华，囊中一切法码都为他所定。12作恶为王所憎恶，因国位是靠公义坚立。13公义的嘴为王所喜悦，说正直话的为王所喜爱。14王的震怒如杀人的使者，但智慧人能止息王怒。15王的脸光使人有生命，王的恩典好像春云时雨。

我们经常提到神在末世的审判，几乎没有人怀疑神的审判是否不公。但是你假如看看现在法院审理的案件，可能有很多人会觉得司法不公。该死的不死，不该死的却被牵连拖累。这就是神和人的不同。我们都希望有人像神一样，以公道和公义作为领袖的潜质，几千年来要找到这样的官吏真是少而又少，因而包拯就成了华人心里的梦想。

包青天在华人心中是一个梦想，历史学家说，包拯其实只办了一两个案件，其他都是电视的编剧编出来的。在他身边既没有王朝马汉，也没有公孙先生和展昭，但是人民的心中都希望有他这样的直吏，敢面对君王去谏言，不畏权势去上告，为老百姓出气争公平。为何给包拯一个青天的称号了，可见百姓心中相信天（也就是神）是公道和公义的；也可以明白，人对神在潜识里的相信和敬畏。

耶和华所造的各适其用

2022-06-21 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:4  耶和华所造的各适其用，就是恶人也为祸患的日子所造。

阅读经文：箴言16:4-9

4耶和华所造的各适其用，就是恶人也为祸患的日子所造。5凡心里骄傲的，为耶和华所憎恶，虽然连手，他必不免受罚。6因怜悯、诚实，罪孽得赎；敬畏耶和华的，远离恶事。7人所行的若蒙耶和华喜悦，耶和华也使他的仇敌与他和好。8多有财利行事不义，不如少有财利行事公义。9人心筹算自己的道路，唯耶和华指引他的脚步。

从《圣经》来看神的创造：各从其类，各按其时，各适其用。所以不管在人眼中有没有用处，在神都有其安排和定意。恶人为祸患的日子所造，并不是说神故意去造恶人，来搞出一些祸患，而是说万事互相效力，即使人要使坏，神也可以利用其恶心成就神的美意。就好像连加恩在非洲时，为了使当地整洁，发动了旧衣换垃圾的运动。他鼓励当地人去收集到处都是的垃圾袋，替换他从台湾募捐到的一批批的衣服。那么那些黑垃圾袋怎么办呢？

原本是人们到处乱丢的垃圾袋，在一些有才艺的老师们的指导下，变成了精美的工艺品。原本是不好的，影响了环境卫生和美观的垃圾袋，竟然成了可以推销赚钱糊口的工艺品。在神手中，不断地进行着化腐朽为神奇的作为。在古时的以色列，当他们离开神去拜偶像时，外邦人就成了神管教他们的工具。表面上看来，那些迦南人、亚扪人、以东人、摩押人，等等，好像都要把以色列人致于死地，抢他们的东西，践踏他们的农作物，抓人去当奴隶；因着这些苦难，以色列人就回转归向神。

The Picture I Show Others

2022-06-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 11:1-7.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 11:1-7 (NIV)
1  Love the LORD your God and keep his requirements, his decrees, his laws and his commands always.
2  Remember today that your children were not the ones who saw and experienced the discipline of the LORD your God: his majesty, his mighty hand, his outstretched arm;
3  the signs he performed and the things he did in the heart of Egypt, both to Pharaoh king of Egypt and to his whole country;
4  what he did to the Egyptian army, to its horses and chariots, how he overwhelmed them with the waters of the Red Sea as they were pursuing you, and how the LORD brought lasting ruin on them.

On verses 1-11:  In Deuteronomy 11:2, Moses reminds the current generation of Israelites that there were miracles, blessings and lessons that God had shown them which their kids had not seen.  He emphasizes it again in verses 5-7: “It was not your children who saw what he did for you… But it was your own eyes that saw all these great things the LORD has done.”

What is Moses getting at?  He’s implying that the current generation of Israelites have a responsibility to tell the next generation about the incredible miracles, blessings and lessons God had shown them.

The Persistent Love of God

2022-06-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 10:1-11.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 10:1-11 (NIV)
1  At that time the LORD said to me, “Chisel out two stone tablets like the first ones and come up to me on the mountain. Also make a wooden chest.
2  I will write on the tablets the words that were on the first tablets, which you broke. Then you are to put them in the chest.”
3  So I made the ark out of acacia wood and chiseled out two stone tablets like the first ones, and I went up on the mountain with the two tablets in my hands.
4  The LORD wrote on these tablets what he had written before, the Ten Commandments he had proclaimed to you on the mountain, out of the fire, on the day of the assembly. And the LORD gave them to me.

On verses 1-11:  When I read these verses what strikes me is God’s persistence.  When the Israelites (spiritually) and Moses (literally/physically) broke God’s ten commandments, God didn’t give up.  Instead God persisted and gave Moses and the Israelites two new tablets containing those same ten commandments.  It’s like God was giving them a fresh start.

When the Israelites angered God with their sin such that God did not want to bring them into promised land anymore, God still persisted and decided to lead them there anyway.

失控时的保守

2022-06-20 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:1    心中的谋算在乎人，舌头的应对由于耶和华。

阅读经文：箴言16:1-3

1心中的谋算在乎人，舌头的应对由于耶和华。2人一切所行的在自己眼中看为清洁，唯有耶和华衡量人心。3你所做的要交托耶和华，你所谋的就必成立。

失控时的保守

「心中的谋算在乎人，舌头的应对，由于耶和华。」(箴言16:1)这是我非常喜欢的圣经节，因为在教书、辅导、演讲、分享，与人应对前，我总是想很多，准备很多，考虑很多，但是讲出去的那一刻，经常不完全是事先的筹算，有另外的亮光、感动介入，瞬间组成字句，让我说出去。很多学生告诉我：「听老师的课，最享受的事，是得到许多启发，是我们事先没有想过的。」其实，我事先也没有想到。

我们的想法，想得再多，只是一部份。现场所讲，才是全部。舌头的应对，要对当时的环境、临时的启发、听者的氛围、别人的需求，与许多自己不知道的因子等，所以我们对自己所讲，事先要交给主，讲时要交托主，讲后要感谢主，不管讲得好与不好，我们只是仆人，定夺在乎主。

我的弱点是，很容易被人激动，或在别人的勉强下回应，或在控告下的诘问，讲出不该讲的话。我为此难过，就学习被人激动时便离开。但是有时离不开，我会被激动到言语失控，结果成为我极度的忧伤，这是情绪的失控。甚至出现不是原有的念头，这是想法的失控。上帝的话切入，带来心灵的平安，与思想的平静，重新的交托。应对是在乎上帝，不在乎我，结果在乎爱我的主耶稣，不在乎我。（张文亮教授）

Jesus Is Praying For You

2022-06-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 9:13-29.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 9:13-29 (NIV)
13  And the LORD said to me, “I have seen this people, and they are a stiff-necked people indeed!
14  Let me alone, so that I may destroy them and blot out their name from under heaven. And I will make you into a nation stronger and more numerous than they.”
15  So I turned and went down from the mountain while it was ablaze with fire. And the two tablets of the covenant were in my hands.
16  When I looked, I saw that you had sinned against the LORD your God; you had made for yourselves an idol cast in the shape of a calf. You had turned aside quickly from the way that the LORD had commanded you…….

On verses 13-29:  In Deuteronomy 9:13-29, Moses describes two recurring patterns in Israel’s history so far.  First, the Israelites kept rebelling against God.  As Moses says in verse 24: “You have been rebellious against the Lord ever since I have known you.”

But second, each time the Israelites rebelled against God, Moses was there to stand in the gap, to intercede and pray for his fellow Israelites.  God responded to Moses’ prayers and showed mercy to the Israelites.

尊荣与谦卑

2022-06-19 in , /by

〈箴言〉15:33 敬畏耶和华是智慧的训诲，尊荣以前必有谦卑。

阅读经文：箴言15:24-33

24 智慧人从生命的道上升，使他远离在下的阴间。 25 耶和华必拆毁骄傲人的家，却要立定寡妇的地界。 26 恶谋为耶和华所憎恶，良言乃为纯净。 27 贪恋财利的扰害己家，恨恶贿赂的必得存活。 28 义人的心思量如何回答，恶人的口吐出恶言。 29 耶和华远离恶人，却听义人的祷告。 30 眼有光使心喜乐，好信息使骨滋润。 31 听从生命责备的，必常在智慧人中。 32 弃绝管教的，轻看自己的生命；听从责备的，却得智慧。 33 敬畏耶和华是智慧的训诲，尊荣以前必有谦卑。

谁是智慧人，可以从生命的道上升，远离在下的阴间呢？我有一些朋友，不相信自己有灵魂，也不思想身后事，认为人死一了百了。假如人死了一了百了，又何来那么多的灵异故事呢？读者文摘曾经登过一些故事，有的人在亲人死后，感觉到亲人留下的痕迹和信号。也有一些人在濒临死亡时，灵魂出窍，看到医护人员在手术房里的急救，看见亲友在不同地方为他（她）祷告，醒来之后，细细道来，仿佛历历在目，令人惊讶不已。

宁可相信自己有灵魂，为灵魂预备去的地方，也好过不相信自己有灵魂，以后惶惶然下阴间。你相信，有预备，那么你死了对你不会有损失；但是你若没有预备，而确实有灵魂，你的损失可就惨重了。所以接受在人的一生中，最大的成就便是找到生命之道，脱离死亡的辖制，便是智慧了。所罗门王说：“神造万物，各按其时成为美好，又将永生安置在世人心里”（传3:11）。人若是正视自己的需要，便会发现自己的灵魂无时无刻不在寻找永生的家，也就是灵魂的归宿，一旦找到，心里便有平安和喜乐，因为回家了，回到那赐给我们灵魂和生命的神那里。