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Let God’s Mercy Keep Us Humble

2022-06-01 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 2:16-37.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 2:16-23 (NIV)
16  Now when the last of these fighting men among the people had died,
17  the LORD said to me,
18  “Today you are to pass by the region of Moab at Ar.
19  When you come to the Ammonites, do not harass them or provoke them to war, for I will not give you possession of any land belonging to the Ammonites. I have given it as a possession to the descendants of Lot.”
20  (That too was considered a land of the Rephaites, who used to live there; but the Ammonites called them Zamzummites.
21  They were a people strong and numerous, and as tall as the Anakites. The LORD destroyed them from before the Ammonites, who drove them out and settled in their place.
22  The LORD had done the same for the descendants of Esau, who lived in Seir, when he destroyed the Horites from before them. They drove them out and have lived in their place to this day.
23  And as for the Avvites who lived in villages as far as Gaza, the Caphtorites coming out from Caphtor destroyed them and settled in their place.)
 
On verses 16-23:  When you read these verses it becomes clear that the Israelites were not the only ones that God had been protecting and leading the way for.  In verses 18-21 we read about how God was with the Ammonites and enabled them to drive out a strong and formidable force in the Rephaites, who were known to be much larger in size, and takeover their land.  In verse 22 we read about how God was with the descendants of Esau and enabled them to drive out the Horites and takeover their land.  Moses speaks to the Israelites this way to drive home a number of points that are good for us to learn as well:

How to Not Let Envy Eat You Up

2022-05-31 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 2:1-15.
 
Deuteronomy 2:1-13 (NIV)
1  Then we turned back and set out toward the desert along the route to the Red Sea, as the LORD had directed me. For a long time we made our way around the hill country of Seir.
2  Then the LORD said to me,
3  “You have made your way around this hill country long enough; now turn north.
4  Give the people these orders: ‘You are about to pass through the territory of your brothers the descendants of Esau, who live in Seir. They will be afraid of you, but be very careful.

On verses 1-13:  Moses recounts how God specifically warned that first generation of Israelites not to provoke or harass the people living in the lands that they passed by, especially after they themselves had lost their chance to enter the Promised Land.  So God warns that first generation of Israelites not to touch the descendants of Esau living in the land of Seir, or the descendants of Lot living in the land of Ar.  “For I will not give you any part of their land”, God said in both cases (v5, 9), since God had given those lands specifically to those other groups.  It’s as if God knew that this first generation of Israelites would be tempted to take over the lands of other peoples after having lost out on their own Promised Land.

生命的贖價

2022-05-31 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:11   不勞而得之財必然消耗，勤勞積蓄的必見加增。

閱讀經文：箴言13:8-11

8 人的資財是他生命的贖價，窮乏人卻聽不見威嚇的話。 9 義人的光明亮，惡人的燈要熄滅。 10 驕傲只啟爭競，聽勸言的卻有智慧。 11 不勞而得之財必然消耗，勤勞積蓄的必見加增。

第8節：人的資財是他生命的贖價，窮乏人卻聽不見威嚇的話。

《現代中文譯本》：有錢人花錢贖命；窮苦人不受恐嚇。

《The Message》: The rich can be sued for everything they have, but the poor are free of such threats.

大家會看到我們採用不同的聖經譯文，因為有些譯文大同小異就不用再參考，放在這裡的是因為它的譯文更使人容易理解，也藉此機會讓讀者知道原來中文聖經有好幾種不同的譯本。《現代中文譯本》翻譯小組的主要負責人是許牧世(由美國聖經公會聘請)、駱維仁、周聯華、王成章、焦明五位牧師，以Today’s English Version(後改稱Good News Bible)爲藍本，由原文翻譯。

這句經文一看就明，錢多有錢多的煩惱，錢少有錢少的不便。但是至少沒有人要去綁架窮人，自找麻煩，總是找有錢人，這也是有的有錢人找隨身保鑣的原因。為了沒有太多錢感恩，因為心裡的坦然使我們活得更自在。

The Far Less Painful Way to Prosper

2022-05-30 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 1:34-46.
 
Deuteronomy 1:34-36 (NIV)
34  When the LORD heard what you said, he was angry and solemnly swore:
35  “Not a man of this evil generation shall see the good land I swore to give your forefathers,
36  except Caleb son of Jephunneh. He will see it, and I will give him and his descendants the land he set his feet on, because he followed the LORD wholeheartedly.”
 
On verses 34-36:  Caleb’s story shows us that just because the people around you are not responding to God with faith, that doesn’t mean you have to follow their lead.  Like Caleb you can choose a unique path of responding to God with faith, even when those around you are not.  Dare to be different in a good way, and you will be uniquely blessed in the process.
 
Caleb’s story also shows us that when we follow God wholeheartedly, not only are we blessed, but those who come after us will be blessed as well.  There’s a generational blessing that comes when a person decides to respond to God in faith.

真假窮人

2022-05-30 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:4  懶惰人羨慕卻無所得，殷勤人必得豐裕。

閱讀經文：箴言13:4-7

4懶惰人羨慕卻無所得，殷勤人必得豐裕。5義人恨惡謊言，惡人有臭名，且致慚愧。6行為正直的有公義保守，犯罪的被邪惡傾覆。7假作富足的，卻一無所有；裝作窮乏的，卻廣有財物。

第4節：懶惰人羨慕卻無所得，殷勤人必得豐裕。

《新譯本》:懶惰人渴求，卻一無所得；殷勤人必得豐裕。

《The Message》: Indolence wants it all and gets nothing; the energetic have something to show for their lives.

Indolence是懶惰人的意思，它和lazy是同義詞，又有一點不同。lazy是不想做事情，或不想努力；Indolent是形容詞，形容慣性的偷懶，例如拖延或不喜歡做勞力的工作。好像做家務，輪到某人洗碗時，他總是說，放著吧，我待會去洗。但是到了第二天早上，碗槽還是堆積如山。生活中的壞習慣，雖然不是大惡，卻會影響到家裡的人際關係。在家裡如此，在工作中難免也會如此，便會錯失許多機會，只能羨慕別人比自己做得好。

工作效率高的人不會拖延事情，有事立刻解決，絕不留到明天。這樣的習慣可以節省下很多要回頭去想的時間，也比較能抓住一瞬即過的機會。

勵志的危機

2022-05-29 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:1  智慧子聽父親的教訓，褻慢人不聽責備。

閱讀經文：箴言13:1-3

1智慧子聽父親的教訓，褻慢人不聽責備。2人因口所結的果子必享美福，奸詐人必遭強暴。3謹守口的得保生命，大張嘴的必致敗亡。

許人喜歡用「正向思考」的話，來鼓勵人要有積極的人生觀，要有人生的光明面。其實給勵志性的小語幫助人，如同表面傷口擦擦「小護士」，輕微疼痛貼貼「撒隆巴斯」。生命的問題有時需要外科手術，開刀切入深處，將問題取出。

主耶穌的教導從來不給勵志小語，祂在挑戰我們生命真正的跟隨，祂說：「一個人不能事奉兩個主。」(路加福音16:13。祂要我們進教會是敬拜上帝，不是將 教會當成服務24小時的超商，祂說：「我的殿、必作禱告的殿，你們倒使他成為賊窩了。」(路加福音十9:46)。有人求耶穌替他分家產，耶穌沒有落在他的 問題裡，而是告訴他「謹慎自守，免去一切的貪心」(路加福音12:15)。

「智慧子聽父親的教訓，褻慢人不聽責備。」(箴言13:1)，聽正向思考愈多，日後難受教，因他聽不下責備的話。（張文亮教授）

You Don’t Need To Live In Fear

2022-05-29 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 1:19-33.
 
Deuteronomy 1:19-33 (NIV)
19  Then, as the LORD our God commanded us, we set out from Horeb and went toward the hill country of the Amorites through all that vast and dreadful desert that you have seen, and so we reached Kadesh Barnea.
20  Then I said to you, “You have reached the hill country of the Amorites, which the LORD our God is giving us.
21  See, the LORD your God has given you the land. Go up and take possession of it as the LORD, the God of your fathers, told you. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged.”
22  Then all of you came to me and said, “Let us send men ahead to spy out the land for us and bring back a report about the route we are to take and the towns we will come to.”

On verses 19-33:  Keep in mind what Moses is doing here.  Moses is speaking to a new generation of Israelites, preparing them to take possession of the land God had promised them.  So that this new generation of Israelites would not repeat the same mistakes that their parents and grandparents had made, Moses recalls in a fresh way specific events that happened along their journey so far, events which this new generation of Israelites may have been too young to remember.  In recalling these events Moses is highlighting some lessons that he wants this new generation of Israelites to remember as they get ready to possess the promised land.

Make Time for Both These Things

2022-05-27 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today we begin the book of Deuteronomy.  You might say that Deuteronomy was Jesus’ favourite book in the Old Testament.  When Jesus was asked what was God’s greatest commandment, Jesus quoted from Deuteronomy 6:5.  When Jesus was being tempted by the devil, Jesus fought back with quotations from Deuteronomy 8:3, 6:16, and 6:13. Since Jesus saw the power and importance of Deuteronomy and kept this book close to His heart, I pray we would do the same.

Here is some background information on Deuteronomy that you might find helpful:
–        Deuteronomy is the fifth book in the Old Testament.  It is also the fifth and final book of the Pentateuch (a name for the first five books in the Bible, also sometimes called the Torah).
 
–        It is widely believed, and with good reason, that Moses was responsible for the writing of the entire Pentateuch including Deuteronomy (other than the last chapter describing Moses’ death).   

要避開靠不住的人

2022-05-27 in , /by

〈箴言〉12:27  懶惰的人不烤打獵所得的，殷勤的人卻得寶貴的財物。

閱讀經文：箴言12:26-28

26義人引導他的鄰舍，惡人的道叫人失迷。27懶惰的人不烤打獵所得的，殷勤的人卻得寶貴的財物。28在公義的道上有生命，其路之中並無死亡。

在十字路口，遇到恩典的攤販

當我們孤獨無依時，山窮水盡之處，有人在那裏幫助我們、陪伴我們、招待我們，是上帝給我們何等的恩待，何等的眷顧。

「義人引導他的鄰舍」(箴言12:26)，「引導」的原文是個特別的用詞，原意是戰爭時期派出去的探子，到了敵軍轄區，有前來接應的嚮導。

我們的成長不也是如此嗎？在人生難處的十字路口，上帝也派人在那裏開個恩典的小店，照顧我們的孤苦零丁。免得我們孤苦之中嘆孤苦，零丁之中嘆零丁。這些人在暗處幫助人，名不顯揚。

我相信信仰最好，不單是站在台上傳講的人，也有坐在台下的代禱、扶持者。放在光鮮之處的大都是木器、瓦器。留在暗處的才是金器、銀器。

試煉與試探

2022-05-26 in , /by

〈箴言〉12:24  殷勤人的手必掌權，懶惰的人必服苦。

閱讀經文：箴言12:21-25

21義人不遭災害，惡人滿受禍患。22說謊言的嘴為耶和華所憎惡，行事誠實的為他所喜悅。23通達人隱藏知識，愚昧人的心彰顯愚昧。24殷勤人的手必掌權，懶惰的人必服苦。25人心憂慮屈而不伸，一句良言使心歡樂。

試煉與試探

「義人不遭災害」(箴言12:21)，義人，是有主保守的人。「不遭災害」是不遭試探與引誘。這如同耶穌教我們的禱告：「不叫我們遇見試探，救我們脫離兇惡」(馬太福音六:13)。試煉與試探的本質不同，試煉是煉去雜質顯出好，試探是落入網羅顯出壞。我們會遇見試煉，求主讓我們避去試探。

在箴言裡，「試探」是人用力追求時，所發出的喘氣聲。這世界追求金錢、追求欲望、追求偶像等，都會使人發出喘氣。

聖靈的禁止，與仇敵的控告，也有不同的本質。聖靈的禁止帶我們回到主面前，重新仰望與交託。仇敵的控告讓我們落入失敗的人、事、物，纏在裡面難掙脫。主啊，我願憑信回到祢面前，相信祢的應許。雖然曾遭災害，我不論斷自己，只信我的救主不失敗。