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一個母親的肺腑之言

2022-11-15 in , /by

箴言31:2  我的兒啊，我腹中生的兒啊，我許願得的兒啊，我當怎樣教訓你呢？

閱讀經文：箴言 31:1-9

1利慕伊勒王的言語，是他母親教訓他的真言。2我的兒啊，我腹中生的兒啊，我許願得的兒啊，我當怎樣教訓你呢？3不要將你的精力給婦女，也不要有敗壞君王的行為。4利慕伊勒啊，君王喝酒，君王喝酒不相宜，王子說「濃酒在哪裡」也不相宜。5恐怕喝了就忘記律例，顛倒一切困苦人的是非。6可以把濃酒給將亡的人喝，把清酒給苦心的人喝。7讓他喝了，就忘記他的貧窮，不再記念他的苦楚。8你當為啞巴開口，為一切孤獨的申冤。9你當開口按公義判斷，為困苦和窮乏的辨屈。

有人知道利慕伊勒王是誰嗎？知道的請提供消息。在各種查經資料裡有許多猜測，在這裡我只採用兩種比較有可能的說法。第一是根據古老拉比們的說法，他們認為利慕伊勒Lemuel就是所羅門王。在巴比倫《塔木德》一書裡指出所羅門一共有六個名字，其中有一個名字就是利慕伊勒，意思就是“towards (lemo) God (el)向著神”。

有位拉比Moncure Daniel Conway曾寫過一本有關所羅門王的書，其中有一段故事發生在拔示巴和所羅門之間，和今天的經文有關。大家還記得拔示巴嗎？她就是大衛王不擇手段搶來的女人，所羅門就是他們的第二個孩子，第一個在神的懲罰下死了。故事是這樣的，在所羅門建了聖殿，獻殿的那天，所羅門王和埃及公主成婚。那天所羅門喝得酩酊大醉，到第二天才醒來。因為開聖殿的鑰匙放在所羅門的枕頭下面，因此無法開啟聖殿的門。大家都不敢去吵醒所羅門王，因此他的母親拔示巴進入他的臥室並責備他。

Jesus Values Teamwork

2022-11-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 3:7-19.  Let’s go!

Mark 3:7-19 (NIV)
7  Jesus withdrew with his disciples to the lake, and a large crowd from Galilee followed.
8  When they heard all he was doing, many people came to him from Judea, Jerusalem, Idumea, and the regions across the Jordan and around Tyre and Sidon.
9  Because of the crowd he told his disciples to have a small boat ready for him, to keep the people from crowding him.
10  For he had healed many, so that those with diseases were pushing forward to touch him.

On verses 7-19:  For those of you who want to make a difference in this world, remember this lesson from Jesus’ life:  It’s not enough to draw a crowd.  You need to raise a team of leaders.

Given his abilities and the crowds he was drawing, Jesus could have chosen to be a one man show.  But wisely, that wasn’t Jesus’ way.  Jesus knew the value of team.  That is why in the midst of all of his fame, popularity and busyness as a public figure, Jesus took the time here to assemble a team.

不要自找罪受

2022-11-14 in , /by

箴言30:32   你若行事愚頑自高自傲，或是懷了惡念，就當用手摀口。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:32-33

32你若行事愚頑自高自傲，或是懷了惡念，就當用手摀口。33搖牛奶必成奶油，扭鼻子必出血，照樣，激動怒氣必起爭端。

32-33 If you’re dumb enough to call attention to yourself  by offending people and making rude gestures, Don’t be surprised if someone bloodies your nose. Churned milk turns into butter;  riled motions turn into fist fights. 《The Message》

我們都知道神稱迦南地為流奶與蜜之地。張文亮教授在他的《聖經與植物》一書裡，曾經提及，“迦南美地是世界上花草類最多的地方，種類在兩千七百種以上，而且持續有新種發現。花草多，代表可供蓄牧的草料多，奶和牛奶的生產量就多；花草多，吸引來的蜜蜂也多，所生產的蜜就多。（引用自p.23） ” 今天這節經文：“搖牛奶必成奶油”，在中東和巴勒斯坦（即迦南地）所說的奶油，和現在我們從西方人得知的奶油是一樣的嗎？

Don’t Miss the Big Picture

2022-11-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 3:1-6.  Let’s go!

Mark 3:1-2 (NIV)
1  Another time he went into the synagogue, and a man with a shriveled hand was there.
2  Some of them were looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, so they watched him closely to see if he would heal him on the Sabbath.

On verses 1-2:  The Pharisees were in “church”, that is, in the synagogue, but their focus was not on worshiping Yahweh.  Their focus was looking for a reason to accuse Jesus, to see in particular if Jesus would heal a worshipper in attendance with a shriveled hand.

How about you?  When you go to church, is your focus on giving God your best worship or are you more focused on seeing the people and judging what they do?  It’s no wonder Jesus was angry and “deeply distressed” (v5) by the way the Pharisees conducted themselves in the synagogue.

各類型的領袖

2022-11-13 in , /by

箴言30:29   步行威武的有三樣，連行走威武的共有四樣。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:29-31

29步行威武的有三樣，連行走威武的共有四樣，30就是獅子，乃百獸中最為猛烈、無所躲避的，31獵狗、公山羊和無人能敵的君王。

獅子型的領袖

「獅子乃百獸中最為猛烈，無所躲避的．」(箴言三十：30)

「獅子」的原文在箴言裡有豐富的涵義，在這裡有「猛烈分開」的意思。獅子有利爪、利牙，爆發力，衝勁，吼叫聲音又大，經常採主動攻擊，難怪是百獸之王。要想對抗牠的，將會被撕得粉碎。這類比要成為領袖的人，需要勇往向前，遇到阻礙，解開問題，為後面的跟隨者，開出一條路。如同施洗約翰「預備主的道，修直祂的路。」(馬可福音一：3)

需要有獅子的領袖，才能接受托負，完成任務；承續異象，完成使命。當我們靠主，有顆獅子的心，許多前面的霧氣就消除。在困難的事上，主會給我們獅子的力量，去征服。(張文亮教授)

聰明的小物

2022-11-11 in , /by

箴言30:24   地上有四樣小物，卻甚聰明。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:21-23

24地上有四樣小物，卻甚聰明：25螞蟻是無力之類，卻在夏天預備糧食；26沙番是軟弱之類，卻在磐石中造房；27蝗蟲沒有君王，卻分隊而出；28守宮用爪抓牆，卻住在王宮。

螞蟻的聰明

「螞蟻是無力之類，卻在夏天預備糧食．」(箴言三十：25)

上帝要我們觀看螞蟻，牠們的體長大都小於1公分，上帝稱牠們是地上的小物，非常聰明。牠們能將食物先分割成小小的一塊，再搬回自己的巢。「螞蟻」的原文就是切割者，牠們每一次都只拿一點點，是自己體力能背負，不將自己的所需成重擔，這是牠們的聰明。

螞蟻知道工作與時機有關，在夏天的時候特別賣力。夏天炎熱，其實不適合野外的勞力者。螞蟻卻知道夏天是食物最多的時候，夏天的乾旱也不會有雨水，沖走牠們沿途所佈的路標—費洛蒙，螞蟻在夏天可以走最遠。

中國人也稱讚牠們，工作辛勤如馬快速，稱為「螞」，互相合作，如君子行事公義，稱為「蟻」。是的，我們要像螞蟻，當趁今日，多做主工，又知切割的分量。

I Think You Need a New Container

2022-11-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 2:13-22.  Let’s go!

Mark 2:13-14 (NIV)
13  Once again Jesus went out beside the lake. A large crowd came to him, and he began to teach them.
14  As he walked along, he saw Levi son of Alphaeus sitting at the tax collector’s booth. “Follow me,” Jesus told him, and Levi got up and followed him.
 
On verses 13-14:  Levi, who is also known as Matthew, made his living as a tax collector.  Many Jews looked down on Jewish tax collectors since they were known for taking money from their own people, giving it to the Roman government and in some cases pocketing some of that money for themselves.  So the word “tax collector” became a derogatory synonym for someone who was a cheat and who couldn’t be trusted. 
 
Yet Jesus didn’t let Levi’s occupation or a stereotype stop him from calling Levi.  In today’s cancel culture, Levi would be written off as someone you can’t trust.  But Jesus saw potential in people whom others were prone to passing by.  Not only would Levi become one of Jesus’ disciples, but God would apparently use Levi and his skills to write the Gospel of Matthew, one of the most important books in the Bible.

Faith That Makes A Difference

2022-11-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Mark 2:1-12.  Let’s go!

Mark 2:1 (NIV)
1  A few days later, when Jesus again entered Capernaum, the people heard that he had come home.
 
On verse 1:  Wait. Wasn’t Jesus born in Bethlehem and raised in Nazareth?  Why do people say that Jesus has come home when he returned to Capernaum?  It’s because Capernaum is known as the place that Jesus treated as his hub or his base when his public ministry began. 

Mark 2:2-4 (NIV)
2  So many gathered that there was no room left, not even outside the door, and he preached the word to them.
3  Some men came, bringing to him a paralytic, carried by four of them.
4  Since they could not get him to Jesus because of the crowd, they made an opening in the roof above Jesus and, after digging through it, lowered the mat the paralyzed man was lying on.
 
On verses 2-4:  Here’s one of my favourite leadership equations, coined by Pastor Craig Groeschel:  Passion + Limited Resources + A Willingness to Fail = Innovation.

何等恩典

2022-11-10 in , /by

箴言30:21   使地震動的有三樣，連地擔不起的共有四樣。

閱讀經文：箴言 30:21-23

21使地震動的有三樣，連地擔不起的共有四樣，22就是僕人做王，愚頑人吃飽，23醜惡的女子出嫁，婢女接續主母。

這亞古珥也太幽默了一些，這些事情在現代人眼中，好像不算什麼，因為經常發生在我們眼前。但我相信，在古時候，這些事真是會讓人驚訝得幾乎下巴都要跌下來了！使地震動表示連地都感到震驚，太不可思議了！因為地是承受一切的，人的活動有何事能逃過地的“眼睛”。我們千萬不要以為地是毫無知覺的，神曾告訴以色列人，“在你們以先居住那地的人行了這一切可憎惡的事，地就玷污了—— 免得你們玷污那地的時候，地就把你們吐出，像吐出在你們以先的國民一樣”（利18:27-28）。所以當亞古珥說地會震動時，表示那些事前所未有，不曾聽過，實在駭人。

但是現在我們看了很多，也聽了很多類似的事，可見世界已經變化到一個地步，這些事情我們都見怪不怪了。第一件是僕人作王，畢牧師譯為：when the janitor becomes the boss，當掃地的變成老板。這事有什麼奇怪呢？只要發奮圖強，沒有受過高等教育白手起家的人很多，而且許多成功的企業家出身都很貧賤，有很多擺過地攤、掃地洗廁所也可以闖出一番事業的。