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快樂的結局

2022-04-10 in , /by

〈約伯記〉42:5   我從前風聞有祢，現在親眼看見祢。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉42章

你有沒有設想過，有一天神會面對面和你對話？每次想到這個問題時，我的第一個反應就是想到耶穌呼召彼得時，他跪在耶穌面前說：“主啊！離開我，我是個罪人！”但是耶穌不但沒有離開他，反而呼召彼得跟隨祂。2014年10月，在以色列Ashdod城市舉辨的一場福音音樂會，聖靈在其中大大的作工，有525位猶太人站起來決志信主，接受耶穌為彌賽亞。在其他猶太人福音事工中，從來沒有如此大規模的猶太人同時信主。究其原因，是因為有許多人向耶穌禱告後，疾病得到醫治。

有一位猶太媽媽向耶穌禱告說：“如果祂是彌賽亞，請醫治在家臥病不起的小孩”，結果回到家中，她的小孩竟然在廚房做菜，病已經完全好了，她問小孩得痊癒起床的時間，剛好正是她向耶穌禱告的時候，後來她們全家都信主了。有位以色列福音差會的宣教士說，在英國對猶太人宣教十幾年之間，僅1-3個人秘密信主。因此有這樣多人同時決志信耶穌，是一件神蹟。除了疾病得醫治之外，也有很多人在夢裡見到耶穌，因而信主。在回教徒裡也有許多類似的見證。至於你，是怎樣從風聞有神，到親眼看見神？

約伯原就是個敬虔的人，到此時他完全相信他所敬拜的是又真又活的神。我們都像約伯一樣，雖然相信，但究竟會有人的迷惑。我們用各樣的理由讓自己有信心，我們說不憑眼見只憑信心，但是假如沒有與神接觸的親身體會，光是頭腦的相信，是遠遠不夠的。我們都必須從風聞有神，進入親眼看見神，我們的信心才能扎實在耶穌身上，有根有基。

In Case You’re Tested By This

2022-04-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs!
 
Today’s passage is Acts 12:11-25.  Let’s go!

Acts 12:11-12 (NIV)
11  Then Peter came to himself and said, “Now I know without a doubt that the Lord sent his angel and rescued me from Herod’s clutches and from everything the Jewish people were anticipating.”
12  When this had dawned on him, he went to the house of Mary the mother of John, also called Mark, where many people had gathered and were praying.
 
On verses 11-12:  Peter now realizes that the deliverance from prison he was dreaming about was actually real.  His first instinct is to go to the house of Mary, mother of John-Mark, where many are praying for him.  Peter wants those praying for him to see for themselves the incredible deliverance God made possible for him, knowing how much encouragement that would bring to them. 

Acts 12:13-16 (NIV)
13  Peter knocked at the outer entrance, and a servant girl named Rhoda came to answer the door.
14  When she recognized Peter’s voice, she was so overjoyed she ran back without opening it and exclaimed, “Peter is at the door!”
15  “You’re out of your mind,” they told her. When she kept insisting that it was so, they said, “It must be his angel.”
16  But Peter kept on knocking, and when they opened the door and saw him, they were astonished.
 

水族之王

2022-04-08 in , /by

〈約伯記〉41:11   誰先給我什麼，使我償還呢？天下萬物都是我的。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉41章

在神的形容中，有一些是我們從來沒看過的事，例如“動物的口中發出燒著的火把與飛迸的火星，從牠鼻孔冒出煙來，如燒開的鍋和點著的蘆葦，牠的氣點著煤炭，有火焰從牠口中發出”。這種動物或情景我們在電影的特效中看過，但不曾想到那是真的。但是在〈約伯記〉的最後四章裡，我們知道神描述一些自然界的常見事物，並非象徵性的說法。約伯和他的朋友們都明白神在說些什麼，因此我們可以很大膽地推論，在約伯的時代有一些生物是我們現在看不到的，已經絕種了。

聖經教師傑夫哈理遜指出Leviathan/希臘文drakon/希伯來文稱其為tannin(複數tanninim)。在希伯來文的字根tanan是指這些動物會發出咆哮的聲音，所以是咆哮的野獸。在七十士譯本裡譯為drakon，那就是英文dragon(龍)的字源。若牠是水棲爬行動物時，其希臘名是Keetos，複數是Keetee，指的是一種大型海怪。在早期講希臘語的基督徒認為，那條吞下約拿的keetos便是一種巨大的，類似恐龍的兩棲爬行動物。所以牠可以上到海岸附近，把約拿吐在旱地上。Leviathan在聖經裡也譯為拉哈伯。

根據維基百科：恐龍（Dinosauria）是在1842年由英國古生物學家理查·歐文（Richard Owen）正式提出，歐文把恐龍總目定義為蜥形綱（Sauropsida）的一個獨特部族或亞目，包含當時在英國與世界各地發現的恐龍。Dinosauria這名詞衍化自古希臘文，δεινός/deinos意為「恐怖的」或「極其巨大的」，σαύρα/sauros意為「蜥蜴」。歐文在命名時，考量到牠們的牙齒、利爪、巨大體型、以及其他令人印象深刻的恐怖特徵，因此命名牠們為「恐怖的蜥蜴」。中文的恐龍一詞，源自日本的翻譯「恐龍（恐竜）」，最初由中國地質學家章鴻釗提出，後來在中文地區廣泛使用。

Living the Dream

2022-04-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs!
 
Today’s passage is Acts 12:1-10.  Let’s go!

Acts 12:1-3 (NIV)
1  It was about this time that King Herod arrested some who belonged to the church, intending to persecute them.
2  He had James, the brother of John, put to death with the sword.
3  When he saw that this pleased the Jews, he proceeded to seize Peter also. This happened during the Feast of Unleavened Bread.
 
On verses 1-3:  James, the brother of John and one of the original twelve disciples, is martyred for his faith, put to death with the sword by King Herod.  Seeing how the killing of a Christian leader was seemingly gaining him favour with other people in his kingdom, King Herod decides to seize Peter with plans to put him on trial and to execute Peter just like he did James.  Herod thought that living to please others, even if it meant doing evil and murderous deeds, would benefit him.  Soon, however, we’ll discover that the very tendency in him to want esteem and worship from others would result in his undoing.  Living to please others doesn’t result in life but death.
 
Acts 12:4-5 (NIV)
4  After arresting him, he put him in prison, handing him over to be guarded by four squads of four soldiers each. Herod intended to bring him out for public trial after the Passover.
5  So Peter was kept in prison, but the church was earnestly praying to God for him.

河馬或恐龍

2022-04-07 in , /by

〈約伯記〉40:19   牠在神所造的物中為首，創造牠的給牠刀劍。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉40章

當神出現之後，又問了那麼一大堆問題，我想約伯可能快嚇暈了。我們有時像約伯一樣，覺得神為什麼不回答，為什麼神這樣待我，為什麼神不指明祂的意思，我們問啊問的，結果神出現了，反問我們一大堆問題。這時你會不會很想找個洞躲起來。我們好像理直氣壯，義氣填胸，但是真要面對神時，才會發現自己什麼都不是，什麼都不會，什麼都不懂，所以當神叫約伯回答祂的問題時，約伯只好說：“我是卑賤的，我用什麼回答你呢？只好用手摀口。我說了一次，再不回答；說了兩次，就不再說。”

神太大，我們太渺小；但是神的愛和寬容使我們忘了自己的地位。像一個不懂事的小孩竟敢在大庭廣眾之下，躺在地上又哭又鬧，就為了讓父母就範。所以當我們又哭又吵又鬧時，會以為神不聽禱告，以為神不在我們身邊，其實神一直在等我們冷靜下來。神要讓人懂得祂對我們的愛，但是祂是有主權的神，祂的旨意是不可廢棄的。所以我們最好不要挑戰祂的權威。

有的父母覺得要和孩子們打成一片，做孩子們的朋友，陪他們一起長大。但有一位牧師指出，父母倘若失去父母的威嚴，就沒有辦法引導自己的孩子了。父母的威嚴能使孩子有安全感，相信他們有能力可以保護孩子們。父母若失去威嚴，那麼孩子怎樣尊重你呢？神的威嚴並不影響我們認識祂的愛，同樣的，父母的威嚴也不是用來彰顯自己的地位，而是要讓孩子知所進退，明白父母的教導和引領都是為了他的好處。這樣孩子才會相信父母的話，尊重父母的意見。雖然父母不像神那樣知道一切，但是父母在屈身擁抱孩子時，陪他們戲耍時，不要忘記自己是父母。

When The Holy Spirit Is At Work

2022-04-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 11:19-30.  Let’s go!

Acts 11:19-24 (NIV)
19  Now those who had been scattered by the persecution in connection with Stephen traveled as far as Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch, telling the message only to Jews.
20  Some of them, however, men from Cyprus and Cyrene, went to Antioch and began to speak to Greeks also, telling them the good news about the Lord Jesus.
21  The Lord’s hand was with them, and a great number of people believed and turned to the Lord.
22  News of this reached the ears of the church at Jerusalem, and they sent Barnabas to Antioch.
23  When he arrived and saw the evidence of the grace of God, he was glad and encouraged them all to remain true to the Lord with all their hearts.
24  He was a good man, full of the Holy Spirit and faith, and a great number of people were brought to the Lord.

On verses 19-24:  When Stephen was martyred and persecution broke out on the church in Jerusalem (Acts 7-8:3), the church scattered (Acts 8:4) and some Christians traveled to places like Phoenicia, Cyprus and Antioch (v19).  Despite not having heard or seen the incredible ways that the Holy Spirit had touched the lives of Gentiles like Cornelius and household in Judea (Acts 10) or what the Holy Spirit did among Samaritans in Samaria (Acts 8), some of these scattered believers also began speaking to Gentiles too about Jesus Christ, in particular Greeks at Antioch, who responded in great numbers (v21).  So the church in Jerusalem sends Barnabas to Antioch, a Gentile city in Syria, to see the work that God was doing there and to encourage the growing church there.  God uses the encouraging presence and uplifting words of Barnabas to add to the work already happening in Antioch, bringing more people to the Lord there. 

鴕鳥之笨，馬之威

2022-04-06 in , /by

〈約伯記〉39:17 因為神使牠沒有智慧，也未將悟性賜給牠。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉39章13-30節

從神的創造之物，可以稍微感受到神那奇妙的想像力和幽默感。鴕鳥，是世界現存最大的鳥，有翅膀但不能飛，只能跑，但牠跑的速度很快。鴕鳥的翅膀不能飛，但有保溫作用，主要是用來平衡身體，在寒冷天氣時覆蓋無羽毛的大腿以保持體溫或幼鳥，或交配時展示用。牠的頭很小，眼睛很大，有濃黑的眼睫毛，是陸地生物中最大的眼球，僅次於鯨；可以看到3-5公里遠。牠們最大的天敵是獅子或獵豹，但因為駝鳥的速度極快，最快速度可達每小時60公里，每步距離可達6至8公尺，可持續奔跑20至30分鐘，因此獅子或獵豹往往追牠們追到筋疲力竭。這就是為何牠挺身展開翅膀，就嗤笑馬和騎馬的人，因為馬的速度沒有牠快。馬的時速大約40-48公里而已。

鴕鳥養殖業有一條金科玉律：沒有充足的陽光，雌鴕鳥不會下蛋。一個鴕鳥蛋的重量可以達到13公斤，雌雄鴕鳥輪流晝夜孵化，每次產8-15枚，孵化需時約35-42天。雄鴕鳥只在夜間孵蛋，免得牠鮮豔的羽毛遭來天敵的注意。但有時雌鴕鳥下蛋之後就跑掉，過了一陣子再回來，那時牠的蛋有可能已經被別的動物踩破了。一隻鴕鳥可以活30-60年。神賜給鴕鳥有這樣多的特質，但是卻沒有給牠智慧或悟性，因為智慧和悟性是神給人的特殊禮物，給動物的是本能。

神再以馬來詰問約伯，實際上不管是鴕鳥或馬或鷹雀，我們對牠們的了解都很有限。養殖鴕鳥的人，不一定理解馬或鷹雀；養馬的也不一定理解鴕鳥或鷹雀，養鷹雀也不一定知道鴕鳥和馬的習性。也就是說，我們人窮極一生，也只能了解一種或數種動物；但是神對牠們通通知道。神知道牠們的脾性、需要、造型、特點，等等，因為是神把牠們造成那樣獨特的生物，各從其類。所以神給馬有很大的力氣，卻又可以被人馴服作為交通工具、勞動、打仗和比賽等等用途，馬肉卻不好吃。馬肉和鴕鳥肉都可食用，卻都是〈利未記〉所列為不潔淨的動物。

Seek to Understand Before You Criticize

2022-04-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 11:1-18.  Let’s go!

Acts 11:1-18 (NIV)
1  The apostles and the brothers throughout Judea heard that the Gentiles also had received the word of God.
2  So when Peter went up to Jerusalem, the circumcised believers criticized him
3  and said, “You went into the house of uncircumcised men and ate with them.”
4  Peter began and explained everything to them precisely as it had happened:
5  “I was in the city of Joppa praying, and in a trance I saw a vision. I saw something like a large sheet being let down from heaven by its four corners, and it came down to where I was.

On verses 1-18:  The circumcised believers in Jerusalem criticized Peter for associating with Gentiles.  So “starting from the beginning” (v2), Peter explains what happened to him: the vision he saw while praying (v5-10), the three men Cornelius sent and who arrived right at that same moment (v11), his meeting with Cornelius (v12-14), the way the Holy Spirit fell on these new Gentile believers as Peter was preaching (v15) and the lessons he learned from these experiences (v16-17).

Notice that before the circumcised believers heard Peter’s perspective, they were critical of him.  After they heard Peter’s perspective, “they had no further objections and praised God” (v18) about the very situation they once criticized Peter for.

Jesus for Every Nation

2022-04-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 10:34-48.  Let’s go!

Acts 10:34-35 (NIV)
34  Then Peter began to speak: “I now realize how true it is that God does not show favoritism
35  but accepts men from every nation who fear him and do what is right.

On verses 34-35:  Peter recognizes that it was the Holy Spirit who gave him and Cornelius each a vision around the same time and used those visions to bring the two of them together.  Even as he is preaching to Cornelius’ household, Peter himself is realizing that truly God’s heart is for people from every nation.

Acts 10:36-43 (NIV)
36  You know the message God sent to the people of Israel, telling the good news of peace through Jesus Christ, who is Lord of all.
37  You know what has happened throughout Judea, beginning in Galilee after the baptism that John preached–
38  how God anointed Jesus of Nazareth with the Holy Spirit and power, and how he went around doing good and healing all who were under the power of the devil, because God was with him.
39  “We are witnesses of everything he did in the country of the Jews and in Jerusalem. They killed him by hanging him on a tree,
40  but God raised him from the dead on the third day and caused him to be seen.

禽獸之性

2022-04-05 in , /by

〈約伯記〉39:1     山巖間的野山羊幾時生產，你知道嗎？母鹿下犢之期，你能察定嗎？

〈約伯記〉38:39-41   母獅子在洞中蹲伏，少壯獅子在隱密處埋伏，你能為牠們抓取食物，使牠們飽足嗎？烏鴉之雛因無食物飛來飛去，哀告神，那時，誰為牠預備食物呢？

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉39章1-12節

神以天空萬象詰問了約伯之後，再轉到萬獸的生活。神的問題其實都很基本，對祂而言很基本，但是對人而言，若不經過長久的思考研究和不斷地探索，根本無法知其一二。從母獅到烏鴉，神問我們，誰曾為那些野獸的生存操心？有誰注意過牠們的需要？在2015年十月，台灣嘉義縣八掌溪出海口沙洲發現有條抹香鯨的屍體，解剖後發現牠的胃部內有大量魚網和塑膠袋。人類不僅無法照顧到這些神所創造的生物，更成了直接或間接的殺手。現在有許多動物面臨絕種，都因為人類的濫殺和貪心。但是神照顧這些生物，不僅為了讓人類得以有生存的條件，也因為牠是創造這些生物的主。

所主耶穌說：“你們看那天上的飛鳥，也不種也不收，也不積蓄在倉裡，你們的天父尚且養活牠，你們不比飛鳥貴重得多嗎？（太6:26）”這最重要的兩個字就是：你們的“天父”，父表示生命之來源。我們的父必負起供應我們的責任，正如祂供應祂所創造的一切生命。肉身的父親或有不足或軟弱，但天上的父親卻是一切擁有者。天父向我們要的就是信心，一個孩子對父親所具有的單純信心。所以當我們信心軟弱時，要走出自己蝸居，看看天上的飛鳥，地上的螞蟻，甚至那令人厭惡的小強（蟑螂）；神都眷顧牠們，豈能不眷顧你？

你有看過山羊或母鹿生產嗎？當小羊或小鹿出生後，掙扎幾下就站起來了，雖然搖搖晃晃，但是抖幾下就會走動了，比人的嬰兒能幹多了。羊媽媽和鹿媽媽也不用坐月子，照吃照喝，一切從簡。牠們肚子疼痛時，屈一下身就生完了；相比之下，為何人的生產會那麼辛苦？不禁要回想到始祖犯罪後，神給女人的咒詛：“我必多多加增你懷胎的苦楚，你生產兒女必多受苦楚。（創3:16）”那是罪在人身上的記號。直到主耶穌來了，這個咒詛才算破解了：“然而，女人若常存信心、愛心，又聖潔自守，就必在生產上得救。（提前2:15）”舊約裡許多咒詛，都在新約裡變成祝福，都是因為主耶穌的救恩。