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耶和華熬煉人心

2022-06-27 in , /by

〈箴言〉17:3   鼎為煉銀，爐為煉金，唯有耶和華熬煉人心。

閱讀經文：箴言17:1-3

1設筵滿屋大家相爭，不如有塊乾餅大家相安。 2 僕人辦事聰明，必管轄貽羞之子，又在眾子中同分產業。 3 鼎為煉銀，爐為煉金，唯有耶和華熬煉人心。

筵席的原則堅守

「設筵滿屋，大家相爭」(箴言17:1)。

1990年，我回台灣教書。我兼某研究單位的主管，需要爭取許多的研究計畫。做有些研究案要靠關係，要有關係就要靠喝酒。有次，我去拿某水庫單位的研究案，前提之一，是當幾位主辦人面前，喝下一瓶高粱酒。我勉強喝下那一瓶，案子也沒拿到。

當時植物學系有位基督徒老師，叫潘秦美，她給我許多幫助。她告訴我國家最高研究單位，與藥廠關係緊密，利益糾葛。有次，她陪藥廠主管與對方吃飯，研究所長 強迫她喝酒，說：「來，妳喝這一杯，從此我們是朋友。」潘老師說；「如果要喝這杯，才能做朋友，這種朋友不要也罷。」這句話回的很絕，生意沒了，也少去一 個試探。

潘老師已經安息十多年了，我走過植物系館，遠看她過去的實驗室，替她的家人禱告。近年，那個單位不斷被媒體刊載，在財務上與藥廠有不當往來。其實，說喝這一杯才是朋友時，早已在埋下日後的伏筆。

Food, Finances and Faith

2022-06-27 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 12:15-32.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 12:15-16 (NIV)
15  Nevertheless, you may slaughter your animals in any of your towns and eat as much of the meat as you want, as if it were gazelle or deer, according to the blessing the LORD your God gives you. Both the ceremonially unclean and the clean may eat it.
16  But you must not eat the blood; pour it out on the ground like water.
 
On verses 15-16:  Why were the Israelites prohibited from eating blood?  For more on this see the section below called “On verses 20-27”.
 
Deuteronomy 12:17-19 (NIV)
17  You must not eat in your own towns the tithe of your grain and new wine and oil, or the firstborn of your herds and flocks, or whatever you have vowed to give, or your freewill offerings or special gifts.
18  Instead, you are to eat them in the presence of the LORD your God at the place the LORD your God will choose–you, your sons and daughters, your menservants and maidservants, and the Levites from your towns–and you are to rejoice before the LORD your God in everything you put your hand to.
19  Be careful not to neglect the Levites as long as you live in your land.

白髮是榮耀的冠冕

2022-06-26 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:31    白髮是榮耀的冠冕，在公義的道上必能得著。

閱讀經文：箴言16:26-33

26勞力人的胃口使他勞力，因為他的口腹催逼他。27匪徒圖謀奸惡，嘴上彷彿有燒焦的火。28乖僻人播散紛爭，傳舌的離間密友。29強暴人誘惑鄰舍，領他走不善之道。30眼目緊合的圖謀乖僻，嘴唇緊閉的成就邪惡。31白髮是榮耀的冠冕，在公義的道上必能得著。32不輕易發怒的勝過勇士，制伏己心的強如取城。33籤放在懷裡，定事由耶和華

假如我們的肚腹不催促我們，有沒有人會去工作呢？《信息聖經》這樣譯第26節：“Appetite is an incentive to work; hunger makes you work all the harder. 食慾促使人們去工作，饑餓使你工作得更賣力。”在創始的開始，工作本身有可能是很愉快的。因為神叫亞當為野地各樣走獸和空中各樣飛鳥取名字。換成是你的話，你覺得這個工作好不好？這工作看起來容易，其實一點都不簡單。

你只要看看每個父母親為孩子取一個名字都要絞盡腦汁，何況那麼多走獸和飛鳥取名，真是不容易。但也很有趣，可以根據其性情、顏色或形狀去取名字，也很不錯。那時的亞當，腦子裡充滿了創意，也不用擔心肚子餓，伸手就有果子吃。工作本身應該是令人愉快而興奮的。但是在亞當違背了神旳話之後，工作的性質就改變了，是為了滿足肉體的需要而不得不做的事情。饑餓，成為人去工作的動力。為了養活一家人，工作就變成沉重的負擔和壓力。

Holy Ground

2022-06-26 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 12:1-14.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 12:1-3 (NIV)
1  These are the decrees and laws you must be careful to follow in the land that the LORD, the God of your fathers, has given you to possess–as long as you live in the land.
2  Destroy completely all the places on the high mountains and on the hills and under every spreading tree where the nations you are dispossessing worship their gods.
3  Break down their altars, smash their sacred stones and burn their Asherah poles in the fire; cut down the idols of their gods and wipe out their names from those places.

On verses 1-3:  Moses tells the Israelites that when they oust out the nations occupying the Promised Land, they are to completely destroy their altars and places of worship.  This sounds harsh and is certainly not a politically correct statement in Western culture today. The lesson for us here is this:  we are to give God uncompromising worship.  Later in the Old Testament, in 2 Kings 23, we read of King Josiah who does exactly what Deuteronomy 12:3 is talking about.  With all the breaking, smashing and tearing down that Josiah does in 2 Kings 23, you’d think that Josiah was a playable character in a Super Mario Bros. video game. 

God’s Call to Give Your All Is Rooted in Love

2022-06-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 10:12-22.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 10:12-13 (NIV)
12  And now, O Israel, what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways, to love him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul,
13  and to observe the LORD’s commands and decrees that I am giving you today for your own good?
 
On verses 12-13:  When you love someone, naturally you want to give all of yourself to that person, and you desire for that person to give all of themselves to you.  That’s why we get pop standards like, “All of me, why not take all of me?  Can’t you see, I’m no good without you”.  That’s why John Legend sings, “Give your all to me, I’ll give my all to you.”  That’s why in Phantom of the Opera, Christine and her lover sing to each other, “Love me…That’s all I ask of you.” 
 
The same goes for God.  Because God loves us, He wants to give all of Himself to us, and in return He wants us to give all of ourselves to Him.  That’s why verse 10 says, “what does the LORD your God ask of you but to fear the LORD your God, to walk in all His ways, to love Him, to serve the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul”.  God’s call to give your all is rooted in love.

奔流的水泉

2022-06-24 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:24    良言如同蜂房，使心覺甘甜，使骨得醫治。

閱讀經文：箴言16:21-25

21心中有智慧必稱為通達人，嘴中的甜言加增人的學問。22人有智慧就有生命的泉源，愚昧人必被愚昧懲治。23智慧人的心教訓他的口，又使他的嘴增長學問。24良言如同蜂房，使心覺甘甜，使骨得醫治。25有一條路人以為正，至終成為死亡之路。

講話，是一門很大的學問。我們看到有的人很懂得講話，他一開口，大家都喜歡聽；有的人真的不會講話，說不到三句，大家就想跑了。尤其是在聽道時，若是碰上很有講道恩賜的牧者，真是讓人如沐春風，忘記時間。好像遠志明講道，聽眾的耳朵不知不覺就被吸住了，有好多弟兄姐妹都是因為他的講道而信主。因為他能把道理講得通達，令人心服口服。他也常常以自己的生活為見證，讓大家從他的見證裡，看到自己也有同樣的不是，而願意去改正。當然，他的見證裡充滿幽默，讓大家在笑聲裡體會到他的改變。

所以“嘴中的甜言加增人的學問”，新譯本譯為“動聽的話能增加說服力”。當一個推銷員講得天花亂墬時，聽的人就掏出錢了。在電視上有許多購物的節目，我曾經想看看他們究竟在賣什麼，怎樣賣法。不得了，聽得我都覺得不買不行，不買就虧大了。你看，人家的質地那麼好，價錢那麼便宜，現在立刻買還有加送這個那個，這樣的機會怎能錯過呢？錯過就是笨蛋了。我的信用卡在哪？電話呢？

野心和異象

2022-06-23 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:18    驕傲在敗壞以先，狂心在跌倒之前。

閱讀經文：箴言16:16-20

16 得智慧勝似得金子，選聰明強如選銀子。 17 正直人的道是遠離惡事，謹守己路的是保全性命。 18 驕傲在敗壞以先，狂心在跌倒之前。 19 心裡謙卑與窮乏人來往，強如將擄物與驕傲人同分。 20 謹守訓言的必得好處，倚靠耶和華的便為有福。

這世界上有什麼東西可以勝過金銀呢？所羅門王在登基後，沒有向神求富貴或長壽，只向神求智慧，因而得到神大大的賞賜。他不但擁有了智慧，其他的好處也一併有了。他祈求得太有智慧了。從這件事上，我們看到選智慧的本身就是智慧之舉了。但是智慧是什麼？神以智慧創造天地，我們怎麼可能有那樣的智慧？

希臘人也講究智慧，是理性的智慧；猶太人講的是神性的智慧，也就是所有的智慧，待人處事的智慧，都是根據神的律法和神所教導的。我們若細讀聖經，便會發現其中不僅有理性的智慧，科學的智慧，人文的智慧，無所不包。因為神通曉一切，貫徹一切，祂本身就是智慧。所羅門王說：“敬畏耶和華是智慧的開端”。因為人領用和享用的無一不出自於神，一直居於承恩者的位置，卻不懂得敬畏施恩者，那就是極其自大和無知了。有神的同在，勝過金子和銀子可帶來的好處。

Which Mountain Will You Live On?

2022-06-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 11:22-32.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 11:22-25 (NIV)
22  If you carefully observe all these commands I am giving you to follow–to love the LORD your God, to walk in all his ways and to hold fast to him–
23  then the LORD will drive out all these nations before you, and you will dispossess nations larger and stronger than you.
24  Every place where you set your foot will be yours: Your territory will extend from the desert to Lebanon, and from the Euphrates River to the western sea.
25  No man will be able to stand against you. The LORD your God, as he promised you, will put the terror and fear of you on the whole land, wherever you go.
 
On verses 22-25:  Whenever you see God making a conditional offer to bless the Israelites if they fully obey God’s commands, let it be a reminder that whereas we completely failed to obey all of God’s commands and were disqualified from God’s blessings, Jesus perfectly obeyed and earned those blessings.  Now, we who live by faith in Jesus Christ can enjoy the blessings that Jesus’ obedience made possible, which includes having victory over an enemy who is much stronger than us (Satan) and being given territory that we never could have earned ourselves (such as a place in God’s kingdom, a ministry to serve in, and God’s family to belong to).  It is Jesus’ perfect obedience that makes God’s blessings possible in our lives.

God’s Superfood for Your Strengthening

2022-06-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

There are a number of good lessons we can learn from today’s passage, Deuteronomy 11:8-21.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 11:8-9 (NIV)
8  Observe therefore all the commands I am giving you today, so that you may have the strength to go in and take over the land that you are crossing the Jordan to possess,
9  and so that you may live long in the land that the LORD swore to your forefathers to give to them and their descendants, a land flowing with milk and honey.
 
On verses 8-9:  Moses tells this current generation of Israelites to observe all of God’s commands so that they may have strength to “take over the land” God has for them (v8) and also strength to “live long in the land” that they take over (v9). 
 
Likewise, as followers of Jesus, when we obey God’s commands, it has a strengthening effect on our lives.  Observing God’s commands fills my life with peace, joy and satisfaction. It positions me to receive God’s blessings. It strengthens my faith and my capacity to love God.

怎樣做一個好的領導者

2022-06-22 in , /by

〈箴言〉16:11    公道的天平和秤都屬耶和華，囊中一切法碼都為他所定。

閱讀經文：箴言16:10-15

10王的嘴中有神語，審判之時，他的口必不差錯。11公道的天平和秤都屬耶和華，囊中一切法碼都為他所定。12作惡為王所憎惡，因國位是靠公義堅立。13公義的嘴為王所喜悅，說正直話的為王所喜愛。14王的震怒如殺人的使者，但智慧人能止息王怒。15王的臉光使人有生命，王的恩典好像春雲時雨。

我們經常提到神在末世的審判，幾乎沒有人懷疑神的審判是否不公。但是你假如看看現在法院審理的案件，可能有很多人會覺得司法不公。該死的不死，不該死的卻被牽連拖累。這就是神和人的不同。我們都希望有人像神一樣，以公道和公義作為領袖的潛質，幾千年來要找到這樣的官吏真是少而又少，因而包拯就成了華人心裡的夢想。

包青天在華人心中是一個夢想，歷史學家說，包拯其實只辦了一兩個案件，其他都是電視的編劇編出來的。在他身邊既沒有王朝馬漢，也沒有公孫先生和展昭，但是人民的心中都希望有他這樣的直吏，敢面對君王去諫言，不畏權勢去上告，為老百姓出氣爭公平。為何給包拯一個青天的稱號了，可見百姓心中相信天（也就是神）是公道和公義的；也可以明白，人對神在潛識裡的相信和敬畏。