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興盛的帳篷

2022-06-07 in , /by

〈箴言〉14:11    奸惡人的房屋必傾倒，正直人的帳篷必興盛。

閱讀經文：箴言14:5-11

5誠實見證人不說謊話，假見證人吐出謊言。6褻慢人尋智慧卻尋不著，聰明人易得知識。7到愚昧人面前，不見他嘴中有知識。8通達人的智慧在乎明白己道，愚昧人的愚妄乃是詭詐。9愚妄人犯罪以為戲耍，正直人互相喜悅。10心中的苦楚自己知道，心裡的喜樂外人無干。11 奸惡人的房屋必傾倒，正直人的帳篷必興盛。

人的一生都在尋求智慧，因為希望自己能成功，成為人上人；不然可以解決生活上碰到的難題也可以。猶太人亦然，但是他們有一個很特出的教育方法，使他們的孩子在世界上可以走出自己的路。

有個故事講到猶太人如何注重從孩子年幼時就進行傳統的文化教育。但是有一位以色列的學者卻無法使他的孩子對學習產生興趣，老師對他的孩子也放棄努力，他只好在家裡教他讀〈創世記〉。

有一次戰爭中，羅馬軍攻打他們居住的城巿，把小男孩俘虜了，關到監獄裡。有一天，正好凱撒來視察，無意中看到一本他不知道名字的書。他問有沒有人會讀這本書？監獄官就把小男孩帶去見凱撒，讓小男孩把這本書讀給凱撒聽。那本書正是小男孩學過的〈創世記〉。

凱撒聽後說：“這顯然是上帝的旨意，上帝向我打開祂的世界，讓我把這小孩子送回他父親身邊。”於是叫人準備了一些金銀珠寶，又派士兵把小男孩送回去。此後人們都說：“這孩子的父親只教他讀了一卷書，上帝就賜福給他了。想想看，如果勤於學習神的話語，把整本《聖經》讀完。那麼他得到的獎賞會有多大啊！”

The Reason God Blesses You

2022-06-07 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 4:32-49.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 4:32-40 (NIV)
32  Ask now about the former days, long before your time, from the day God created man on the earth; ask from one end of the heavens to the other. Has anything so great as this ever happened, or has anything like it ever been heard of?
33  Has any other people heard the voice of God speaking out of fire, as you have, and lived?
34  Has any god ever tried to take for himself one nation out of another nation, by testings, by miraculous signs and wonders, by war, by a mighty hand and an outstretched arm, or by great and awesome deeds, like all the things the LORD your God did for you in Egypt before your very eyes?
35  You were shown these things so that you might know that the LORD is God; besides him there is no other.

On verses 32-40:  When you think about the biggest blessings you have received in life, were they things you worked hard for and planned for yourself?  Or rather were they things that God did and planned long before you ever asked for them or thought about them?  I don’t know about you, but for me, the greatest blessings I’ve ever known were things that I didn’t plan for myself or work hard to achieve.  Rather, they were gifts of God’s grace.

What God Denying Moses Teaches Us

2022-06-06 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 4:15-31.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 4:15-19 (NIV)
15  You saw no form of any kind the day the LORD spoke to you at Horeb out of the fire. Therefore watch yourselves very carefully,
16  so that you do not become corrupt and make for yourselves an idol, an image of any shape, whether formed like a man or a woman,
17  or like any animal on earth or any bird that flies in the air,
18  or like any creature that moves along the ground or any fish in the waters below.
19  And when you look up to the sky and see the sun, the moon and the stars–all the heavenly array–do not be enticed into bowing down to them and worshiping things the LORD your God has apportioned to all the nations under heaven.
 
On verses 15-19:  As silly as bowing down in worship to a statue might sound to some of us, the fact is that we all have this tendency, if we’re not careful, to worship created things instead of the Creator.  Whether it’s money, fame, sex, food, another person, ourselves, we are all prone to taking something good that God gave us and turning into something we throw ourselves at as if it’s our reason for being.   But in so doing, we end up worshiping something that is far less than the One who is truly worthy of our worship.  Not only do we cheat Him of our worship, but we cheat ourselves as well, because you’ll never be truly satisfied or at peace worshiping anything other than God. 

要聖潔，不要潔癖

2022-06-06 in , /by

〈箴言〉14:1   智慧婦人建立家室，愚妄婦人親手拆毀。

閱讀經文：箴言14:1-4

1智慧婦人建立家室，愚妄婦人親手拆毀。2行動正直的敬畏耶和華，行事乖僻的卻藐視他。3愚妄人口中驕傲，如杖責打己身，智慧人的嘴必保守自己。4家裡無牛，槽頭乾淨；土產加多，乃憑牛力。

智慧婦人建立家室

有一對夫妻的婚姻瀕臨破裂，在最後的一次努力裡，丈夫帶著妻子回到他祖父母以前住的房子。那個農舍己經破荒蕪。妻子拒絕進去，因為丈夫有事業心，努力苦幹，終於成功，妻子卻覺得遭丈夫冷落遺棄，感到淒涼難甚，執意要離婚。

當她不耐煩丈夫在老屋太久時，便也走了進去。那時丈夫向妻子訴說自己的童年，和祖父母住一陣子，就輪流在親戚家住。他說：“我想，我一生要的就是這麼多。受一點傷或感覺寂寞的時候，有人摟著我；有一個地方住，真正是我的家，永久住在那兒，能有自己的衣釣，撓我的衣服。” 這時，妻子忘記了自己的自憐自私。她終於理解，需要別人表示關愛的，不僅是她自己。他們合解了，妻子伸出手，握住丈夫。

“智慧婦人建立家室，愚妄婦人親手拆毀”，離婚的理由可以有很多；但是留在婚姻裡只有一個理由，因為你學會了去愛對方，而不是只有自己。

愛裡的管教

2022-06-05 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:24   不忍用杖打兒子的，是恨惡他；疼愛兒子的，隨時管教。

閱讀經文：箴言13:23-25

23窮人耕種多得糧食，但因不義有消滅的。24不忍用杖打兒子的，是恨惡他；疼愛兒子的，隨時管教。25義人吃得飽足，惡人肚腹缺糧。
《新譯本》：窮人的耕地可產大量糧食；卻因不義都被摧毀了。

《當代聖經》：窮人辛苦耕耘，積穀防饑，卻會遭不義的人奪去。

《思高譯本》：窮人開墾的田地，生產大量食物；誰若缺乏正義，定不免於滅亡。

《呂振中譯本》：窮乏人的休耕地、能生許多糧食；但舊存的五穀、也能因不義而被掃盡。

《現代中文譯本》：未開墾的土地可為窮人產糧食；不義的人卻不願耕耘土地。

這節經文的原文意義比較含糊，因此有不同的譯法，但是經過數種譯文的比較，還是可以看出其中的含意。作者強調的是窮人可從耕種得到大量的糧食，也有可能因而致富。但是有兩種方法會讓一個人的努力化為流水。

一是他致富之後，染上惡習，揮金如土，因而再度變為貧窮；二是由於他人的不義，例如銀行取消取消抵押品贖回權，又碰到詭詐的律師把他的錢都騙光了，使他又淪為窮愁潦倒。

4 Reasons It is Good to Obey God’s Word

2022-06-05 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 4:1-14.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 4:1-5 (NIV)
1  Hear now, O Israel, the decrees and laws I am about to teach you. Follow them so that you may live and may go in and take possession of the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, is giving you.
2  Do not add to what I command you and do not subtract from it, but keep the commands of the LORD your God that I give you.
3  You saw with your own eyes what the LORD did at Baal Peor. The LORD your God destroyed from among you everyone who followed the Baal of Peor,
4  but all of you who held fast to the LORD your God are still alive today.
5  See, I have taught you decrees and laws as the LORD my God commanded me, so that you may follow them in the land you are entering to take possession of it.
 
On verses 1-5:  Moses is about to spell out the decrees and laws that this current generation of Israelites are to follow, but first, expert leader that Moses is, Moses takes the time to explain why this current generation must follow God’s commands.  People need to know the why if they’re going to do the what.  The reasons the Israelites should obey God’s commands are the same reasons why we should obey them today.

與智者同行

2022-06-03 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:20    與智慧人同行的必得智慧，和愚昧人做伴的必受虧損。

閱讀經文：箴言13:19-22

19所欲的成就，心覺甘甜；遠離惡事，為愚昧人所憎惡。20與智慧人同行的必得智慧，和愚昧人做伴的必受虧損。21禍患追趕罪人，義人必得善報。22善人給子孫遺留產業，罪人為義人積存資財。

第19節：所欲的成就，心覺甘甜；遠離惡事，為愚昧人所憎惡。

《現代中文譯本》：願望實現，令人愉快；愚昧人不願離棄邪惡。

《The Message》: Souls who follow their hearts thrive;  fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.

每個人都希望自己的願望能夠實現，但是每個人心裡所求的都不一樣。愚昧人不願離棄邪惡，他們不顧念自己靈魂的需要，一心往邪惡貪婪裡鑽，因此即使願望實現，心裡也不覺甘甜。

有個美國奧運泳將洛克特Ryan Lochte便是一個實例，他一共拿下12面奧運獎牌、擁有6面金牌，可以說是願望實現，應該是非常愉快的。可惜人品不佳，參加慶功宴喝醉大鬧加油站，卻謊稱被劫，惡形惡相被公諸於世。許多跟他簽約的贊助商無法接受，趕忙終止合作關係與他切割。使他損失慘重。

這節經文勸人不要愚昧，要遠離邪惡；只有在神的良善裡所成就的願望，會帶來真正的喜樂和甘甜。

Let God Fight For You

2022-06-03 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 3:18-29.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 3:18-20 (NIV)
18  I commanded you at that time: “The LORD your God has given you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of your brother Israelites.
19  However, your wives, your children and your livestock (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you,
20  until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the LORD your God is giving them, across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”
 
On verses 18-20:  Here Moses commands the fighting Israelite men to fight for one another and to make sure each Israelite tribe gets its land before any Israelite fighting man could go back and enjoy his own land.  Moses was challenging every Israelite fighting man to put the team’s interests ahead of his own individual interests.  Great teams achieve great things when each member puts the interests of the team ahead of their own. 

你懂那一行嗎？

2022-06-02 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:16    通達人都憑知識行事，愚昧人張揚自己的愚昧。

閱讀經文：箴言13:12-15

12所盼望的遲延未得，令人心憂；所願意的臨到，卻是生命樹。13藐視訓言的自取滅亡，敬畏誡命的必得善報。14智慧人的法則是生命的泉源，可以使人離開死亡的網羅。15美好的聰明使人蒙恩，奸詐人的道路崎嶇難行。

你懂那一行嗎？

我有一個老友，賺了億萬財富。有一晚，我向他請教財務投資之道。他反問我：「商店裡的化妝品有幾萬元一瓶，有幾千元一瓶，也有幾百元一瓶。關鍵在哪裡？」我說：「成分不同，價錢不同。」他看著我，緩慢地說道：「廣告的投資不同。」

他接著問我：「銀行投資理財的專家，操作的最低金額，有美金一億、一千萬、十萬，這三級理財的專家，最主要的差別在哪裡？」我說：「操作金額愈高的人，愈會理財。」老友嘆息搖頭：「在他們專業的打扮與溝通，不是理財能力。」我說：「哇，我怎麼不知道。」

他說：「你若沒有那些知識，就不要做那一行。好好地把你的書教好，好好地享用你現在的擁有，就是富足。」。原來「凡通達人都憑知識行事」(箴言13:16)。

Conquering the Giant in Your Life

2022-06-02 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 3:1-17.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 3:1-17 (NIV)
1  Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.
2  The LORD said to me, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”
3  So the LORD our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors.
4  At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them–the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan.
5  All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages.

On verses 1-17:  In Deuteronomy 3, Moses recounts Israel’s victory over Og king of Bashan.  While Moses recounted this same victory in Numbers 21, here in Deuteronomy 3 Moses mentions an additional detail about Og that he didn’t mention in Numbers: Og was a giant.  Verse 11 says: