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與智者同行

2022-06-03 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:20    與智慧人同行的必得智慧，和愚昧人做伴的必受虧損。

閱讀經文：箴言13:19-22

19所欲的成就，心覺甘甜；遠離惡事，為愚昧人所憎惡。20與智慧人同行的必得智慧，和愚昧人做伴的必受虧損。21禍患追趕罪人，義人必得善報。22善人給子孫遺留產業，罪人為義人積存資財。

第19節：所欲的成就，心覺甘甜；遠離惡事，為愚昧人所憎惡。

《現代中文譯本》：願望實現，令人愉快；愚昧人不願離棄邪惡。

《The Message》: Souls who follow their hearts thrive;  fools bent on evil despise matters of soul.

每個人都希望自己的願望能夠實現，但是每個人心裡所求的都不一樣。愚昧人不願離棄邪惡，他們不顧念自己靈魂的需要，一心往邪惡貪婪裡鑽，因此即使願望實現，心裡也不覺甘甜。

有個美國奧運泳將洛克特Ryan Lochte便是一個實例，他一共拿下12面奧運獎牌、擁有6面金牌，可以說是願望實現，應該是非常愉快的。可惜人品不佳，參加慶功宴喝醉大鬧加油站，卻謊稱被劫，惡形惡相被公諸於世。許多跟他簽約的贊助商無法接受，趕忙終止合作關係與他切割。使他損失慘重。

這節經文勸人不要愚昧，要遠離邪惡；只有在神的良善裡所成就的願望，會帶來真正的喜樂和甘甜。

Let God Fight For You

2022-06-03 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 3:18-29.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 3:18-20 (NIV)
18  I commanded you at that time: “The LORD your God has given you this land to take possession of it. But all your able-bodied men, armed for battle, must cross over ahead of your brother Israelites.
19  However, your wives, your children and your livestock (I know you have much livestock) may stay in the towns I have given you,
20  until the LORD gives rest to your brothers as he has to you, and they too have taken over the land that the LORD your God is giving them, across the Jordan. After that, each of you may go back to the possession I have given you.”
 
On verses 18-20:  Here Moses commands the fighting Israelite men to fight for one another and to make sure each Israelite tribe gets its land before any Israelite fighting man could go back and enjoy his own land.  Moses was challenging every Israelite fighting man to put the team’s interests ahead of his own individual interests.  Great teams achieve great things when each member puts the interests of the team ahead of their own. 

你懂那一行嗎？

2022-06-02 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:16    通達人都憑知識行事，愚昧人張揚自己的愚昧。

閱讀經文：箴言13:12-15

12所盼望的遲延未得，令人心憂；所願意的臨到，卻是生命樹。13藐視訓言的自取滅亡，敬畏誡命的必得善報。14智慧人的法則是生命的泉源，可以使人離開死亡的網羅。15美好的聰明使人蒙恩，奸詐人的道路崎嶇難行。

你懂那一行嗎？

我有一個老友，賺了億萬財富。有一晚，我向他請教財務投資之道。他反問我：「商店裡的化妝品有幾萬元一瓶，有幾千元一瓶，也有幾百元一瓶。關鍵在哪裡？」我說：「成分不同，價錢不同。」他看著我，緩慢地說道：「廣告的投資不同。」

他接著問我：「銀行投資理財的專家，操作的最低金額，有美金一億、一千萬、十萬，這三級理財的專家，最主要的差別在哪裡？」我說：「操作金額愈高的人，愈會理財。」老友嘆息搖頭：「在他們專業的打扮與溝通，不是理財能力。」我說：「哇，我怎麼不知道。」

他說：「你若沒有那些知識，就不要做那一行。好好地把你的書教好，好好地享用你現在的擁有，就是富足。」。原來「凡通達人都憑知識行事」(箴言13:16)。

Conquering the Giant in Your Life

2022-06-02 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Deuteronomy 3:1-17.  Let’s go!

Deuteronomy 3:1-17 (NIV)
1  Next we turned and went up along the road toward Bashan, and Og king of Bashan with his whole army marched out to meet us in battle at Edrei.
2  The LORD said to me, “Do not be afraid of him, for I have handed him over to you with his whole army and his land. Do to him what you did to Sihon king of the Amorites, who reigned in Heshbon.”
3  So the LORD our God also gave into our hands Og king of Bashan and all his army. We struck them down, leaving no survivors.
4  At that time we took all his cities. There was not one of the sixty cities that we did not take from them–the whole region of Argob, Og’s kingdom in Bashan.
5  All these cities were fortified with high walls and with gates and bars, and there were also a great many unwalled villages.

On verses 1-17:  In Deuteronomy 3, Moses recounts Israel’s victory over Og king of Bashan.  While Moses recounted this same victory in Numbers 21, here in Deuteronomy 3 Moses mentions an additional detail about Og that he didn’t mention in Numbers: Og was a giant.  Verse 11 says:

敬畏誡命的必得善報

2022-06-01 in , /by

〈箴言〉13:12    所盼望的遲延未得，令人心憂；所願意的臨到，卻是生命樹。

閱讀經文：箴言13:12-15

12所盼望的遲延未得，令人心憂；所願意的臨到，卻是生命樹。13藐視訓言的自取滅亡，敬畏誡命的必得善報。14智慧人的法則是生命的泉源，可以使人離開死亡的網羅。15美好的聰明使人蒙恩，奸詐人的道路崎嶇難行。

第12節：所盼望的遲延未得，令人心憂；所願意的臨到，卻是生命樹。

《現代中文譯本》：希望幻滅，心靈隨之破碎；願望實現，心裡充滿生機。

《當代聖經》：盼望遲遲不實現，使人憂傷；理想達到，就會為人帶來快樂的人生。

《The Message》: Unrelenting disappointment leaves you heartsick, but a sudden good break can turn life around.

這句經文非常寫實。楊世禮醫生說：“信就是所望之事的實底，是未見之事的確據”（來11:1），不少信徒常常引用這節經文，作為信心的定義。以為所有“所望的事”及“未見的事”，只要加上信心，便會變成事實，誤以為這是上帝給信徒“心想事成”的應允，如此釋經非常危險。其實這一節所謂“所望之事”，並非人意所希望得到的事情，而是神的話語。因為神如此說，我們便如此盼望，所以第一節的中心是神的應許，也是信心的起點。”

當我們誤會神的話時，有時帶來的不只是希望的幻滅，心靈的破碎，更會失去對神的信仰。但是當我們願天父的旨意得以成全時，事情反而會有轉機。因為萬事互相效力，叫愛神的人得益處。神若不照我們的心願去做，往往是因為祂的計劃勝過我們的希望。

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。