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Loving Your Church Staff Well

2022-07-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

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

Deuteronomy 18:1-8 (NIV)
1  The priests, who are Levites–indeed the whole tribe of Levi–are to have no allotment or inheritance with Israel. They shall live on the offerings made to the LORD by fire, for that is their inheritance.
2  They shall have no inheritance among their brothers; the LORD is their inheritance, as he promised them.
3  This is the share due the priests from the people who sacrifice a bull or a sheep: the shoulder, the jowls and the inner parts.
4  You are to give them the firstfruits of your grain, new wine and oil, and the first wool from the shearing of your sheep,
5  for the LORD your God has chosen them and their descendants out of all your tribes to stand and minister in the LORD’s name always.
6  If a Levite moves from one of your towns anywhere in Israel where he is living, and comes in all earnestness to the place the LORD will choose,
7  he may minister in the name of the LORD his God like all his fellow Levites who serve there in the presence of the LORD.
8  He is to share equally in their benefits, even though he has received money from the sale of family possessions.
 
On verses 1-8:  In Deuteronomy 18:1-8, Moses tells the Israelites to care for the Levites – that is, their priestly leaders and those who dedicated their careers to serving in the house of God.  He tells them to remember that their priestly leaders have a unique responsibility in life (v1), that they don’t get to enjoy all the privileges that the other Israelites enjoy (v2), that they are dependent on the offerings of the people for their livelihood (v3), that God has chosen them to minister to Him in a way that requires all of their working hours (v5) and thus the other Israelites are to treat them well (v6-8). 

尊榮以前，必有謙卑

2022-07-08 in , /by

〈箴言〉18:12  敗壞之先，人心驕傲；尊榮以前，必有謙卑。

閱讀經文：箴言18:11-12

11 富足人的財物是他的堅城，在他心想，猶如高牆。 12 敗壞之先，人心驕傲；尊榮以前，必有謙卑。

第11節：富足人的財物是他的堅城，在他心想，猶如高牆。The rich think their wealth protects them;  they imagine themselves safe behind it. 《The Message》

在溫哥華西區有個地區，據說都是大官或很有錢的人居住的，那裡的房子都有很厚的圍牆，很深的院子。我有個朋友曾在那地區買了一棟房子，她邀請我們去參觀。從門口到內室，都裝了閉路電視，每一個去的人都難免要“上鏡頭”。朋友從她的臥室裡就可以看到屋內外的每個地方。這句經文使我聯想到朋友的住家，富人的財物可以為他自己築起堅城和高牆，卻也讓人感受到眾多財富下的不安和驚惶。

當然，這些豪宅不算什麼，在印尼有錢的人不僅有城有牆，還雇了軍人佔崗。表面看很威風，實際上很害怕。財富可以幫人解決不少問題，尤其在可以行賄的地方。所以有人說，錢不是萬能，但沒有錢就萬萬不能。

耶和華的名是堅固臺

2022-07-07 in , /by

〈箴言〉18:10   耶和華的名是堅固臺，義人奔入便得安穩。

閱讀經文：箴言18:10   耶和華的名是堅固臺，義人奔入便得安穩。

在你的一生當中，當你有危險或心裡困擾時，有何名字可以讓你心裡得安穩，問題得解決？你可能會覺得這像是天方夜譚，有哪個名字這麼有效，如此有能力？簡直不可能！但是耶和華神的名字卻如此真實有權能。本月2日中東地區24位前穆斯林，在「中東聖經」地下事工組織26位同工協助下，前往阿拉伯海接受歸信基督洗禮。

他們一行搭上巴士出發前往施洗地點，包括受洗會友24位及服事同工共50人，在受洗服事結束、禱告後，他們全都上了巴士，欲返回家庭教會進行之後的崇拜聚會、領聖餐，未料在行進之間，卻突然遇到3、4輛伊斯蘭軍車自後方追趕上來，並開槍射擊。

3 Traps to Avoid and 3 Ways to Grow Spiritually

2022-07-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 17:14-20.  Let’s go!

In Deuteronomy 17:14-20, Moses foresees the day when the Israelites would want to be like other nations and have a king of their own.  While God’s original plan was that He alone would be Israel’s king, God was sensitive to Israel’s desire for a human king (see 1 Samuel 8). So in these verses Moses lays out some of the requirements that the king would be expected to meet: 3 things that the king must not do (v14-17), and 3 things that the king must do (v18-20).  As we study Deuteronomy 17:14-20, we’ll find that this passage is very much a discipleship passage, one that teaches us how to grow our relationship with God and become Christ-like disciples. 

Deuteronomy 17:14-17 (NIV)
14  When you enter the land the LORD your God is giving you and have taken possession of it and settled in it, and you say, “Let us set a king over us like all the nations around us,”
15  be sure to appoint over you the king the LORD your God chooses. He must be from among your own brothers. Do not place a foreigner over you, one who is not a brother Israelite.
16  The king, moreover, must not acquire great numbers of horses for himself or make the people return to Egypt to get more of them, for the LORD has told you, “You are not to go back that way again.”
17  He must not take many wives, or his heart will be led astray. He must not accumulate large amounts of silver and gold.

Don’t Be Quick to Throw Stones, But Be Quick to Learn and Understand

2022-07-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 17:1-13.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 17:1 (NIV)
1  Do not sacrifice to the LORD your God an ox or a sheep that has any defect or flaw in it, for that would be detestable to him.

On verse 1:  God alone is perfect and worthy of the perfect offering.  Praise God that when we were unable to give God the perfect sacrifice because of our sin, God sent His Son — without flaw or defect — to be the perfect sacrifice for us.  

Now that God has given us His best in Jesus Christ, let’s give Him our best as well.  Whenever you serve or offer God anything, don’t give God the scraps or the leftovers.  Give Him your best.  God made you and saved you so that you could give your best to Him.

Deuteronomy 17:2-7 (NIV)
2  If a man or woman living among you in one of the towns the LORD gives you is found doing evil in the eyes of the LORD your God in violation of his covenant,
3  and contrary to my command has worshiped other gods, bowing down to them or to the sun or the moon or the stars of the sky,
4  and this has been brought to your attention, then you must investigate it thoroughly. If it is true and it has been proved that this detestable thing has been done in Israel,

分辨你的需要

2022-07-06 in , /by

〈箴言〉18:8   傳舌人的言語如同美食，深入人的心腹。

閱讀經文：箴言18:5-9

5瞻徇惡人的情面，偏斷義人的案件，都為不善。6愚昧人張嘴啟爭端，開口招鞭打。7愚昧人的口自取敗壞，他的嘴是他生命的網羅。8傳舌人的言語如同美食，深入人的心腹。9做工懈怠的，與浪費人為弟兄。

不知道有多少人在信主後感到迷茫，既然已經得救，那麼再來的人生應該怎樣走呢？經常聽到要順服神的旨意，在現實生活中卻很難看到什麼是神的旨意。在新約裡，對生活的指點也都是原則性的，什麼可行，什麼不可行？最近在讀《箴言》時，我發現這真是一本神向我們顯明祂心意的書信，要讓我們明白怎樣行事為人才是智慧之子，怎樣的為人是愚妄和行惡之道。不管是在言語上或處理事情的風格，神都藉這書信讓我們看見，神希望祂的兒女們有怎樣的生活心態。

所以本書的一開始就告訴我們：“敬畏耶和華是知識的開端，愚妄人藐視智慧和訓誨”，點出一個敬畏神的人和不敬畏神的人的心態之兩極和結果，然後再來才舖細節，讓人知道如何遵循。所以智慧和愚妄，行義和行善，不是從人的角度去判斷，而是從神的角度去判斷。人的判斷都是自以為正，卻不免隨著潮流和喜惡而定，變幻不定；但是神的判斷卻是公平正直，永遠不會改變。

人口中的言語如同深水

2022-07-05 in , /by

〈箴言〉18:4  人口中的言語如同深水，智慧的泉源好像湧流的河水。

閱讀經文：箴言18:1-4

1與眾寡合的，獨自尋求心願，並惱恨一切真智慧。 2 愚昧人不喜愛明哲，只喜愛顯露心意。 3 惡人來，藐視隨來；羞恥到，辱罵同到。 4 人口中的言語如同深水，智慧的泉源好像湧流的河水。

與眾寡合的，獨自尋求心願，並惱恨一切真智慧。 Loners who care only for themselves spit on the common good. 《The Message》

在電影或小說裡，經常都抬舉單刀獨鬥的英雄或英雌，例如超人、蝙蝠俠、蜘蛛人，等等。但是在現實裡，一個人根本無法成就什麼事情，因為生活裡大家環環相扣，要一起尋求眾人的福利，而不是個人的名聲。即使是總統或王室，有什麼事情是一個人能解決的？

可能你會說，我可以自食其力。自食其力時要去工作，工作是公司請你，但是你只是其中的一份子，有的外銷，有的籌劃，有的負責廣告，有的做產品設計，少了你一個，還有別人頂上來；若是沒有其他同事，你一個人能做什麼？你會煮菜，自己做飯吃。也需要有人種稻、種菜，挑出來賣，還有各樣調味品，沒有其他人的配合，就是巧婦難為無米炊。

所以這節經文告訴我們，要和眾人一起合作，才能在當中併發出真智慧，合乎眾人的需要。所以不要妄自尊大，也不要故步自封，學習傾聽，活到老學到老。

Partying, Justice and True Worship

2022-07-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 16:13-22.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 16:13-15 (NIV)
13  Celebrate the Feast of Tabernacles for seven days after you have gathered the produce of your threshing floor and your winepress.
14  Be joyful at your Feast–you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites, the aliens, the fatherless and the widows who live in your towns.
15  For seven days celebrate the Feast to the LORD your God at the place the LORD will choose. For the LORD your God will bless you in all your harvest and in all the work of your hands, and your joy will be complete.

On verses 13-15:  What does the Feast of Tabernacles tell you about God and His purpose for our lives?  To understand the purpose of the Feast of Tabernacles and how it relates to us today, click HERE. 

Deuteronomy 16:16-17 (NIV)
16  Three times a year all your men must appear before the LORD your God at the place he will choose: at the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the Feast of Weeks and the Feast of Tabernacles. No man should appear before the LORD empty-handed:
17  Each of you must bring a gift in proportion to the way the LORD your God has blessed you.

不說意見不表示呆

2022-07-04 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:28   愚昧人若靜默不言，也可算為智慧；閉口不說，也可算為聰明。

閱讀經文：箴言17:26-28

26刑罰義人為不善，責打君子為不義。27寡少言語的有知識，性情溫良的有聰明。28愚昧人若靜默不言，也可算為智慧；閉口不說，也可算為聰明。

刑罰義人為不善，責打君子為不義。It’s wrong to penalize good behavior,  or make good citizens pay for the crimes of others.《The Message》

在這個社會，我們經常會聽到不公義的事情發生。例如，有人為了去扶起一個跌倒在馬路上的老婦人，卻反而被控告是使老婦人跌倒者，還要賠償。最近讀到一位台灣醫生寫的一篇短文，有位老翁死了，他的女兒拿了一大袋的藥物退還給醫生。原來老翁生前每週按時領藥，卻從不吃藥，連打開都沒有，就這樣，很多昂貴的藥就給浪費了。因為患者必須付的錢很少，所以很多人就覺得不拿白不拿，拿了就往抽屜一丟，下次再去拿。每年有上百噸藥品被扔進垃圾桶，造成極大的浪費。這樣的情況造成健保的惡性循環，錢永遠不夠。少數不浪費的人要承擔多數不負責任的人造成的損失，最後也是一起受害，因為將來藥費一定上漲。

How Should Christians Today Celebrate Passover and Pentecost?

2022-07-04 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 16:1-12.  Let’s go!

In Deuteronomy 16:1-12, Moses describes to the current generation of Israelites two of the three most important feasts in the Jewish calendar: Passover (also known as the Feast of Unleavened Bread) and Pentecost (also known as the Feast of Weeks).  

Deuteronomy 16:1-8 (NIV)
1  Observe the month of Abib and celebrate the Passover of the LORD your God, because in the month of Abib he brought you out of Egypt by night.
2  Sacrifice as the Passover to the LORD your God an animal from your flock or herd at the place the LORD will choose as a dwelling for his Name.
3  Do not eat it with bread made with yeast, but for seven days eat unleavened bread, the bread of affliction, because you left Egypt in haste–so that all the days of your life you may remember the time of your departure from Egypt.
4  Let no yeast be found in your possession in all your land for seven days. Do not let any of the meat you sacrifice on the evening of the first day remain until morning.
5  You must not sacrifice the Passover in any town the LORD your God gives you
6  except in the place he will choose as a dwelling for his Name. There you must sacrifice the Passover in the evening, when the sun goes down, on the anniversary of your departure from Egypt.
7  Roast it and eat it at the place the LORD your God will choose. Then in the morning return to your tents.
8  For six days eat unleavened bread and on the seventh day hold an assembly to the LORD your God and do no work.
 
On verses 1-8:  Why don’t Christians celebrate Passover today in the way Deuteronomy 16:1-8 talks about?  It’s because we now have something even greater than Passover to remember and observe:  Jesus Christ, His death and His resurrection — also known as Easter.