Entries by

與人相處的智慧

2022-04-22 in , /by

〈箴言〉3:27   你手若有行善的力量，不可推辭，就當向那應得的人施行。

閱讀經文：〈箴言〉3:27-29

27你手若有行善的力量，不可推辭，就當向那應得的人施行。28你那裡若有現成的，不可對鄰舍說：「去吧，明天再來，我必給你。」29你的鄰舍既在你附近安居，你不可設計害他。

「你手若有行善的力量，不可推辭，就當向那應得的人施行」（27節）。當我們未與耶穌建立關係時，罪性使我們以自我中心，不懂施予。唯有基督十字架的原則雕塑我們，教我們倒空，懂得捨己和施予。與人建立關係最重要的是懂得幫助人。在不義的管家的比喻裡（路16：1－13），雖然那管家用了不正確的方法去幫助人，說到底他是想藉著幫助人結交朋友的。聖經也常教導我們肯施予是基督徒的記號，愛便是立志將好處給別人，若果人人有愛而又肯施予，社會便得享太平。

樂善好施也是成熟品格的記號。「你手若有行善的力量」提醒我們施予時要量力而為。若自己沒有錢，卻想辦法借錢予人替人還債；或長時間廢寢忘餐地幫朋友，以致疏忽家人或自己的需要，均不是符合聖經原則。我們很多時是「好心做壞事」，我們應求天父賜智慧，去分辨哪些人應該幫忙，哪些人不值得幫忙的便不要幫。好像對於那嗜賭、吸毒的人，我們便不應借錢給他們，因為這樣幫他等於害他。

Have a Healthy Approach to God and Money

2022-04-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs! 

Today’s passage is Acts 16:13-24.  Let’s go!

Acts 16:13-24 (NIV)
13  On the Sabbath we went outside the city gate to the river, where we expected to find a place of prayer. We sat down and began to speak to the women who had gathered there.
14  One of those listening was a woman named Lydia, a dealer in purple cloth from the city of Thyatira, who was a worshiper of God. The Lord opened her heart to respond to Paul’s message.
15  When she and the members of her household were baptized, she invited us to her home. “If you consider me a believer in the Lord,” she said, “come and stay at my house.” And she persuaded us.
16  Once when we were going to the place of prayer, we were met by a slave girl who had a spirit by which she predicted the future. She earned a great deal of money for her owners by fortune-telling……

On verses 13-24:  Paul, Silas and their team are now in the city of Philippi.  Here Luke describes two incidents where, while on the way to pray, Paul, Silas and their team have memorable encounters with different people.  The two encounters Luke describes in these verses show us two very different approaches to God and money.

First they meet Lydia, a new convert to Christianity. Lydia was probably a wealthy businesswoman. The fact that she specialized in selling purple cloth suggests that her clients may have been members of royalty. When Lydia receives Jesus Christ into her life, her first inclination is to use the resources she has to serve the church and its leaders.  She opens up her home to them (v15) as well as to other Christians (see v40).

得智慧之寶貴

2022-04-21 in , /by

〈箴言〉3: 13   得智慧，得聰明的，這人便為有福！

閱讀經文：〈箴言〉3: 13-26 

13得智慧，得聰明的，這人便為有福！14因為得智慧勝過得銀子，其利益強如精金；15比珍珠寶貴，你一切所喜愛的都不足與比較。16她右手有長壽，左手有富貴。17她的道是安樂，她的路全是平安。18她與持守她的做生命樹，持定她的俱各有福。19耶和華以智慧立地，以聰明定天，20以知識使深淵裂開，使天空滴下甘露。

21我兒，要謹守真智慧和謀略，不可使他離開你的眼目。22這樣，他必做你的生命，頸項的美飾。23你就坦然行路，不致碰腳。24你躺下，必不懼怕；你躺臥，睡得香甜。25忽然來的驚恐，不要害怕；惡人遭毀滅，也不要恐懼。26因為耶和華是你所倚靠的，他必保守你的腳不陷入網羅。

通常人所想的智慧，大多是解決問題的能力；但是所羅門王所說的智慧，是一種超越。人所想要的智慧，是怎樣勝過他人的謀略，應對的能力，解決突發事情的急智，幫助自己脫困的聰明。這些都是人間的小聰明，真正的智慧又是如何呢？

一想到智慧，你會不會想到諸葛亮孔明？他能洞察先機，觀人入微，詳知天文地理，以致能戰無不勝、攻無不克，但是他的左手沒有長壽，右手也沒有富貴，他的道沒有安樂，他的路也沒有平安。只落得杜甫兩句：“出師未捷身先死， 長使英雄淚滿襟”，概括一生。孔明的智慧人人稱羡，但是他的結局使人感嘆不已。什麼才是真正的智慧？

When God Interrupts Your Plans

2022-04-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

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

Acts 16:1-3 (NIV)
1  He came to Derbe and then to Lystra, where a disciple named Timothy lived, whose mother was a Jewess and a believer, but whose father was a Greek.
2  The brothers at Lystra and Iconium spoke well of him.
3  Paul wanted to take him along on the journey, so he circumcised him because of the Jews who lived in that area, for they all knew that his father was a Greek.

On verses 1-3: Lystra was the city where Paul experienced some of the worst persecution of his life.  He was stoned and almost killed in Lystra (Acts 14:19).  Yet Paul never gave up on Lystra and continued to reach and care for the believers there.  Eventually in Lystra Paul would meet Timothy, who would become one of his dearest sons in the faith and one of his most important teammates.  It goes to show that when you don’t give up on the place God has called you to, great things will happen eventually.  You just need to last long enough to see it.

Acts 16:4-12 (NIV)
4  As they traveled from town to town, they delivered the decisions reached by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem for the people to obey.
5  So the churches were strengthened in the faith and grew daily in numbers.
6  Paul and his companions traveled throughout the region of Phrygia and Galatia, having been kept by the Holy Spirit from preaching the word in the province of Asia.
7  When they came to the border of Mysia, they tried to enter Bithynia, but the Spirit of Jesus would not allow them to.
8  So they passed by Mysia and went down to Troas.

The Purpose of Prophecy

2022-04-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 15:30-41.  Let’s go!

Acts 15:30-32 (NIV)
30  The men were sent off and went down to Antioch, where they gathered the church together and delivered the letter.
31  The people read it and were glad for its encouraging message.
32  Judas and Silas, who themselves were prophets, said much to encourage and strengthen the brothers.

On verses 30-32:  Sent by the apostles and elders in Jerusalem, Judas and Silas join Paul and Barnabas on their way back to the church in Antioch.  There, the prophetically gifted Judas and Silas “said much to encourage and strengthen” the Christians in Antioch with their words.

What can we learn from this?  The purpose of prophecy in the church is always to encourage and strengthen the people in the church.  As Paul explains:

–        “But everyone who prophesies speaks to people for their strengthening, encouragement and comfort” (1 Corinthians 14:3)
–        “What then shall we say, brothers? When you come together, everyone has a hymn, or a word of instruction, a revelation, a tongue or an interpretation. All of these must be done for the strengthening of the church.” (1 Corinthians 14:26)

耶和華所愛的

2022-04-20 in , /by

〈箴言〉3:11   我兒，你不可輕看耶和華的管教，也不可厭煩祂的責備。

閱讀經文：〈箴言〉3:9-12

9 你要以財物和一切初熟的土產尊榮耶和華， 10 這樣，你的倉房必充滿有餘，你的酒榨有新酒盈溢。 11 我兒，你不可輕看耶和華的管教，也不可厭煩祂的責備。 12 因為耶和華所愛的，祂必責備，正如父親責備所喜愛的兒子。

〈箴言〉第三章是許多人的最愛，尤其是第5-6節：“你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明， 在你一切所行的事上都要認定祂，祂 必指引你的路。”人都希知道明天將如何，因此希望得到指引。認識神的人拚命禱告，不認識神的就去算命、求籤。這也是許多人背得混瓜爛熟的經文。因為我們常常倚靠自己的聰明去面對世界和人生，經常失敗，所以要背這兩節經文來提醒自己。但是所羅門王越說越精采。

曾經有一位自認非常屬靈的弟兄說：“教會就是不應該收奉獻，那是沒有信心的表現。牧者不應該叫會眾奉獻！”他在查經小組裡也這樣對弟兄姐妹說，聽來似乎很有道理，神已經擁有萬有，何必要我們的一點小小奉獻呢？只要祂把天上的窗戶拉開一個小縫縫，我們就吃喝不完了，沒有信心的人才會叫人收奉獻！這位弟兄在身體上曾經得到神的特別醫治，事業家庭也都十分蒙福。因此他認為不用奉獻，因為神什麼都有，不用我們多事！

God’s Favourite Way to Deliver a Message

2022-04-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage, Acts 15:13-29, is not the easiest passage in Acts to interpret, but there are some powerful lessons for those willing to dig deeper.  Let’s go!

Acts 15:13-18 (NIV)
13  When they finished, James spoke up: “Brothers, listen to me.
14  Simon has described to us how God at first showed his concern by taking from the Gentiles a people for himself.
15  The words of the prophets are in agreement with this, as it is written:
16  “‘After this I will return and rebuild David’s fallen tent. Its ruins I will rebuild, and I will restore it,
17  that the remnant of men may seek the Lord, and all the Gentiles who bear my name, says the Lord, who does these things’
18  that have been known for ages.

On verses 13-18:  James, the brother of Jesus and a leader in the church in Jerusalem, continues the discussion about whether Gentile (non-Jewish) Christians should be subject to the law of Moses including Jewish requirements like circumcision.  James acknowledges what Peter had just shared in verses 7 to 11, how Peter had personally seen God choosing Gentile Christians and giving them His Holy Spirit as much as He did Jewish Christians.  While Peter referred to his own personal experience to support the idea that God had chosen believers from among the Gentiles as well, James refers to Scripture, quoting Amos 9:11-12 and showing that there is Scriptural support for the same idea that God had chosen believers from among the Gentiles.

專心仰賴耶和華

2022-04-19 in , /by

〈箴言〉3:5你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明。

閱讀經文：〈箴言〉3: 1-8

1我兒，不要忘記我的法則，你心要謹守我的誡命，2因為他必將長久的日子、生命的年數與平安加給你。3不可使慈愛、誠實離開你，要繫在你頸項上，刻在你心版上。4這樣，你必在神和世人眼前蒙恩寵，有聰明。5你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，6在你一切所行的事上都要認定他，他必指引你的路。7不要自以為有智慧，要敬畏耶和華，遠離惡事。8這便醫治你的肚臍，滋潤你的百骨。

〈箴言〉3:1，「我兒，不要忘記我的法則；你心要謹守我的誡命；因為他必將長久的日子，生命的年數與平安，加給你。」能說這話的人是有福的，希望我們也能這樣告訴兒子、學生、弟兄姊妹。對，我完全承認我們是罪人，信主後還是會做很多錯事，但我們告訴他上帝的道是寶貴的。現在可能比較流行的說法是：「這世界的選擇很多，你覺得要怎樣就怎樣」，我還聽過一個基督徒跟他女兒講：「你要選擇作男人還是女人，隨便你，這是寬大、開放、自由」。我不能說我們沒有寬大開放自由，但求主幫助，聖靈讓我們認識主的法則是美好的。因此，你要認得祂的聲音、法則和福氣，不要忘記。

〈箴言〉3:3，「不可使慈愛、誠實離開你，要繫在你頸項上，刻在你心版上。」這話直接的意思是你對人一定要慈愛、誠實、正直，不要因為世道人心險惡而學得奸詐、冷漠、無愛，不要讓這好東西離開你。而照上下文看，可能也在講能這樣的基礎是你不要讓耶和華的法則離開你，因為那是慈愛誠實的來源，祂會把一切的豐富給你。

〈箴言〉3：5，「你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明」。我們一開始就講了，不是像很多人說的：「不要去想，不要用頭腦，不要用力氣，不要看重你的經驗、教育，文明、思想、文化都不是好的」。（也不一定是基督徒，非基督徒像老子、盧梭，也有這種反智的傾向）。

Before You Make That Decision

2022-04-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 15:1-12.  Let’s go!

Acts 15:1-12 (NIV)
1  Some men came down from Judea to Antioch and were teaching the brothers: “Unless you are circumcised, according to the custom taught by Moses, you cannot be saved.”
2  This brought Paul and Barnabas into sharp dispute and debate with them. So Paul and Barnabas were appointed, along with some other believers, to go up to Jerusalem to see the apostles and elders about this question.
3  The church sent them on their way, and as they traveled through Phoenicia and Samaria, they told how the Gentiles had been converted. This news made all the brothers very glad.
4  When they came to Jerusalem, they were welcomed by the church and the apostles and elders, to whom they reported everything God had done through them.
5  Then some of the believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees stood up and said, “The Gentiles must be circumcised and required to obey the law of Moses.”……

On verses 1-12:  Since the gospel came through the Jews, with all the non-Jewish people (Gentiles) coming to faith in Jesus, it was only a matter of time before people would ask, “Does a non-Jewish convert to Christianity need to follow the Law of Moses, that is, the laws and regulations found in the first five books of the Bible (also known as the Pentateuch) just like a Jewish person does?  In order to be saved, does a non-Jewish person need to subject themselves to circumcision the way that Jewish people do?”  Christians were divided on this important issue.

彎曲的道路

2022-04-18 in , /by

〈箴言〉2:20  智慧必使你行善人的道，守義人的路。

閱讀經文：2:15-22

15 在他們的道中彎曲，在他們的路上偏僻。 16 智慧要救你脫離淫婦，就是那油嘴滑舌的外女。 17 他離棄幼年的配偶，忘了神的盟約。 18 他的家陷入死地，他的路偏向陰間。 19 凡到他那裡去的不得轉回，也得不著生命的路。 20 智慧必使你行善人的道，守義人的路。 21 正直人必在世上居住，完全人必在地上存留。 22 唯有惡人必然剪除，奸詐的必然拔出。

《彎曲的道路》

「他們的道中彎曲」(箴言2:15)。

有一天，我參加一個宴會。宴會後，我要搭車回台北。宴會的主辦人好意，要他的兒子開車送我去火車站。我上了車子，才知道來開車的人滿身酒味。我問他：「還好嗎？」他說：「沒問題。」

他開車上路，我才知道酒醉的人，無法保持在直線上。車子由外線開到內線，又由內線開到外線，大部分是開在兩線之間。有些經過的車子按喇叭，他也不在意，甚至愈開愈快，我對他講：「請開慢一些。」他說：「好、好。」，仍照樣快速。那時，我想到死亡的可能，將生命再一次放在主手中。

後來，車子開到火車站前，我下車前，叫他在路邊休息一下，他說：「好、好。」，又開車走了。我想，他可能不知道他的道路彎曲。酒醉之下，人的道路彎曲，但是人又自以為正的，不是只有酒醉的影響。