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Start With Where They’re At

2022-03-30 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 8:26-40.  Let’s go!

Acts 8:26-28 (NIV)
26  Now an angel of the Lord said to Philip, “Go south to the road–the desert road–that goes down from Jerusalem to Gaza.”
27  So he started out, and on his way he met an Ethiopian eunuch, an important official in charge of all the treasury of Candace, queen of the Ethiopians. This man had gone to Jerusalem to worship,
28  and on his way home was sitting in his chariot reading the book of Isaiah the prophet.

On verses 26-28:  God tells Philip to go south to the desert road that goes from Jerusalem to Gaza.  God doesn’t tell Philip why.  On his way Philip meets the treasurer of the Egyptian government.  According to the New American Commentary, eunuchs in the ancient Near East were men who had been castrated at a young age and were put in charge of the royal harem and the treasury.   Not only was this eunuch therefore carrying great responsibility and authority, but also this eunuch was spiritually hungry.  In fact this Ethiopian eunuch had gone to Jerusalem to worship God and was reading the book of Isaiah on his way home.

What can we learn from this?

Be Filled With The Holy Spirit

2022-03-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 8:14-25.  Let’s go!

Acts 8:14-17 (NIV)
14  When the apostles in Jerusalem heard that Samaria had accepted the word of God, they sent Peter and John to them.
15  When they arrived, they prayed for them that they might receive the Holy Spirit,
16  because the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them; they had simply been baptized into the name of the Lord Jesus.
17  Then Peter and John placed their hands on them, and they received the Holy Spirit.
 
On verses 14-17:  At THRIVE and the great majority of Christian churches around the world that I know of, it is routinely taught that the Holy Spirit begins to dwell in us from the moment that we believe and trust Jesus as our Saviour.  So why is it that in Acts 8:14-17, the Samaritan Christians already believed in Jesus and had already been baptized, but that “the Holy Spirit had not yet come upon any of them” (v16)? 
 
One possible explanation is that verse 16 is not referring to the indwelling of the Holy Spirit, but the filling of the Holy Spirit.  What is the difference?  The indwelling of the Holy Spirit is the idea that when a person receives Jesus into their life, the Holy Spirit begins to live inside that person’s heart, whether that person feels anything or not (1 Corinthians 3:16 and 6:19).  In contrast, the filling of the Holy Spirit is an experience where the Spirit of God fills you with His power in a way that can be felt (Acts 1:8).  As Christians we were made to have the Holy Spirit not just dwell in us, but to continually fill us (Ephesians 5:18).  So one possible explanation of Acts 8:14-17 is that these Samaritan Christians already had the Holy Spirit dwelling within them, but Acts 8:17 is when they first experience the filling of the Holy Spirit.

約伯的安慰者

2022-03-29 in , /by

〈約伯記〉34:3   因為耳朵試驗話語，好像上膛嘗食物。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉34章

在〈約伯記〉裡，人稱約伯的三位朋友和以利戶為“約伯的安慰者”，這是一個諷刺性的稱謂，並不是說他們真的能安慰約伯，而是說他們雖然想安慰約伯，卻反而帶給約伯更多大的痛苦。以利戶雖然在言語上加了一點蜜糖，要使其言語看來不急燥而親切，但是往往一下子就露出他欲加罪於約伯的心態。他說：“耳朵試驗話語，好像上膛嘗食物。我們當選擇何為是，彼此知道何為善”，這句話聽起來很有道理，但是下一句立刻就攻擊約伯：“喝譏誚如同喝水，他與作孽的結伴，和惡人同行”。僅僅引用約伯的一句話，就把約伯定罪，與惡人同行。

這種“斷章取義式”的定罪法，在耶穌和司提反被定罪的例子上也可以找到。我們在和別人辯論時，也很容易就會用這種方法打擊對手。是是，約伯豈真是說，“人以神為樂總是無益？”倘若約伯真覺得人以神為樂總是無益，那麼他又何必一直回頭找神，向神祈求？約伯記得神使他平順的那些日子，他只是不明白為何災難忽然臨到，壓得他無法喘過氣來，他希望知道自己錯在哪裡。這實在是人之常情，當人落在苦難中時，有誰能不問：為什麼？

以利戶認為 “神斷不至行惡，全能者斷不至作孽，但是祂會按著人所做，公平地報應各人。”在這裡以利戶想為人的災難，替神開後門。神給人的災難不是作惡也不是作孽，而是公平的報應。他和約伯其他三個朋友一樣，為了神不斷地辯護，但是神需要律師嗎？當約伯說出他的感受時，他要求的是什麼呢？約伯從來沒有說神行惡或作孽，約伯只是希望神讓他明白，他錯在哪裡？神從來不需要人為祂辯護。在〈申命記〉32章，神說：“你們如今要知道，我，唯有我是神！在我以外並無別神。我使人死，我使人活，我損傷，我也醫治，並無人能從我手中救出來。（申32:39）”

以利戶自言是約伯的中保

2022-03-28 in , /by

〈約伯記〉33:6   我在神面前與你一樣，也是用土造成。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉33章

這整篇文章行雲流水，其實有點像詩歌。以利戶一開始用很正直的口吻和約伯說話，自認與約伯平等，都是神用土造成的人。但是在第六節裡，英文裡有一句Truly I am as your spokesman before God，意思指他願意做約伯的中保，在神面前為他辯護。因此他強調，他必不用威嚴驚嚇約伯，也不用勢力壓約伯。他先表達對約伯的善意，表明他與前三位老者不一樣。

但是很快地，他就像約伯其他的朋友一樣，指責約伯的話說得不對，因為神比世人更大，所以人不應該與神爭論。但是在我的經驗裡，我覺得你若相信有神的存在，難免要和祂辯一辯，因為人的心太淺，人的眼看得太近。我們需要毫無畏懼，才能真的來到神面前傾心吐意。因為“愛裡沒有懼怕”，正因為我們對神的愛有把握，我們才敢像孩子來到父母面前一樣，又傾訴又爭論。倘若你不相信有神，你就不會花力氣去跟神爭辯了。唯有當你心裡有神的存在時，你才會找祂爭論。因為你希望能夠明白一些事情。我們跟神爭論時，其實並不是要贏，而只是想讓自己和神之間毫無阻礙，不希望有誤會，不希望有懷疑。所以要和神把話說個清楚。朋友之間，有時不也如此嗎？你希望的不是輸贏，只希望彼此之間沒有隔閡。

所以約伯才敢據理力爭，因為他相信神的愛。當我們讀〈詩篇〉時，也會發現大衛在神面前毫無保留，什麼心思意念，好的壞的，生氣或失望，感謝或悲哀，他什麼都講，因為他相信神的愛，他不願意對神有任何隱瞞。不管是對或錯，都是最真實的情感。我相信那就是神所求於我們的，不要隱瞞，因為沒有用，神一切都明白，什麼都知道。你向祂隱瞞做什麼呢？難道你不說，祂就不知道嗎？我相信，神希望我們知道祂對我們的愛毫無保留；也希望我們對祂的愛，毫無保留。

The One You Need More Than Anyone Else

2022-03-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 8:1-13.  Let’s go!

Acts 8:1-3 (NIV)
1  And Saul was there, giving approval to his death. On that day a great persecution broke out against the church at Jerusalem, and all except the apostles were scattered throughout Judea and Samaria.
2  Godly men buried Stephen and mourned deeply for him.
3  But Saul began to destroy the church. Going from house to house, he dragged off men and women and put them in prison.
 
On verses 1-3:  As a high ranking Pharisee, Saul spent much of his life studying the Scriptures and doing his best to live what he believed was a moral and upright life.  Yet because Saul had yet to acknowledge Jesus Christ as Lord and did not yet have the Holy Spirit, his life was heading in the opposite direction of where God wanted him to go.  Until Saul personally met Jesus and received the Holy Spirit, Saul would be used by the enemy as an instrument to destroy the church.  Saul thought that he was doing God’s work when he went out to persecute and destroy the church. 
 
What can we learn from this?  You can have great intelligence, education and status in the eyes of people.  You can work hard at the things you believe God wants you to do.  But if you don’t acknowledge Jesus Christ as your Lord and Saviour, if you’re not depending on the Holy Spirit to guide your steps, your life can very well be headed in an opposite direction to where God intended you to go.  If you don’t have the Spirit of God guiding your steps, it doesn’t matter how talented, experienced, or successful you are in the eyes of people, and it doesn’t matter how much of God’s Word you think you know.  True life and lasting fruit are in Jesus Christ, knowing Jesus as your Saviour, following Him as your Lord, and depending on His Holy Spirit to lead the way.

以利戶陳述己意

2022-03-27 in , /by

〈約伯記〉32:8   但在人裡面有靈，全能者的氣使人有聰明。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉32章

約伯的三個老朋友聽完約伯的慷慨陳詞後都安靜下來，覺得沒什麼好說的了。既然約伯覺得他什麼錯都沒有，樣樣事都做得十分完全，這樣自大的人，何必再回答他呢？你可能也有過這樣的經歷，好話壞話都說盡，人家都不聽勸，那也只好由著他，不然又能怎樣？年記大一點的人就有這份成熟，不再去自找麻煩。但是有一個比較年輕的人以利戶就不這樣想了，既然你們都想不出話來答約伯，那麼就讓我來吧。不管以利戶說得對不對，神後來向約伯顯現時，沒有責備以利戶，也沒有對以利戶說什麼。所以讓我們來看看以利戶的話有幾分真實合理。

布西（有譯：布斯）是亞伯拉罕的侄兒，亞伯拉罕的兄弟拿鶴的兒子（創22:20-21）。一開始他顯然很有禮貌，尊敬老年人，所以退讓一邊不語。但是越聽越生氣，終於說出來：“尊貴的不都有智慧，壽高的不都能明白公平。”上一句當然很有道理：“在人裡面有靈，全能者的氣使人有聰明。”全能者的氣，指的是神吹進亞當鼻子裡的那口氣（創2:7），也是神放在人裡頭的靈。神在大洪水之前說：“人既屬乎血氣，我的靈就不永遠住在他裡面，然而他的日子還可到一百二十年。（創6:3）”所以當神的靈留在人裡面時才稱之為活人。動物也是活的，但是牠們裡面沒有神的靈，神給牠們也有悟性和本能，但是沒有神賜的靈和聰明。

Keep Your Eyes on Jesus

2022-03-27 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 7:44-60.  Let’s go!

Acts 7:44-50 (NIV)
44  “Our forefathers had the tabernacle of the Testimony with them in the desert. It had been made as God directed Moses, according to the pattern he had seen.
45  Having received the tabernacle, our fathers under Joshua brought it with them when they took the land from the nations God drove out before them. It remained in the land until the time of David,
46  who enjoyed God’s favor and asked that he might provide a dwelling place for the God of Jacob.
47  But it was Solomon who built the house for him.
48  “However, the Most High does not live in houses made by men. As the prophet says:
49  “‘Heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool. What kind of house will you build for me? says the Lord. Or where will my resting place be?
50  Has not my hand made all these things?’
 
On verses 44-50:  After talking about how the Israelites rejected Moses’ leadership and worshiped idols instead (v30-43), Stephen turns his attention to the way the temple in Jerusalem was built.  Stephen recounts how God originally gave Moses specific designs for a tabernacle, which was a portable tent where His people could worship Him as they journeyed from place to place (v44).  The Israelites would use this portable tabernacle to worship Him throughout the days of Joshua until the reign of King David (v45-46).  After that, it was King David who initiated and his son King Solomon who completed the construction of what was meant to be a permanent temple (v46-47).  But Stephen reminds his audience that God never asked for or required His people to build Him a permanent standing temple (v48).  He quotes Isaiah the prophet (in Isaiah 66:1-2) to show how silly it is for people to think that they could keep God inside the man-made buildings that they build.    

Don’t Repeat History but Make History

2022-03-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 7:30-43.  Let’s go!
 
Acts 7:30-43 (NIV)
30  “After forty years had passed, an angel appeared to Moses in the flames of a burning bush in the desert near Mount Sinai.
31  When he saw this, he was amazed at the sight. As he went over to look more closely, he heard the Lord’s voice:
32  ‘I am the God of your fathers, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob.’ Moses trembled with fear and did not dare to look.
33  “Then the Lord said to him, ‘Take off your sandals; the place where you are standing is holy ground.
34  I have indeed seen the oppression of my people in Egypt. I have heard their groaning and have come down to set them free. Now come, I will send you back to Egypt.’
35  “This is the same Moses whom they had rejected with the words, ‘Who made you ruler and judge?’ He was sent to be their ruler and deliverer by God himself, through the angel who appeared to him in the bush…….

On verses 30-43:  Here Stephen recounts how Moses obeyed the call of God and how God performed incredible signs and wonders through Moses to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt (v30-38).  Yet despite all this, the Israelites rejected Moses and chose to worship idols instead of the LORD (v39-43).  Stephen is connecting the way the Israelites in Moses’ time rejected Moses, God’s chosen servant, with the way Stephen’s accusers were now rejecting Jesus, God’s Son.  Stephen is pointing to a pattern of rebellion against God that he notices among his own people. He will later say that they have this tendency to reject the Holy Spirit (see verse 51).

自言雖遭困苦守道不偏

2022-03-25 in , /by

〈約伯記〉31:35   唯願有一位肯聽我！看哪，在這裡有我所畫的押，願全能者回答我！。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉31章

這是約伯最後為自己辯解的最後一段，為了表明他所言一切屬實，他甚至當場畫押。當台灣的選舉越來越白熱化時，因為有位副總統候選人炒軍宅的問題，讓該黨的立委也被衝擊，甚至有人用自己的姓名下了重咒：“若XXX有買任何一戶軍宅，全家死光”，以示清白。很多人為了要讓人相信自己說的是實話，便不惜立下重誓。約伯畫押也有類似的意思。古時候審判犯人，問明罪狀，就叫犯人畫押。現在約伯也自行畫押，表示所言一切屬實。他之所以要畫押，可能是要對朋友們表明心意，因為在這之前，他們列指約伯的罪狀，令約伯十分憤怒。

約伯的自省從自己的眼目和心開始。使徒約翰說：“因為凡世界上的事，就像肉體的情慾、眼目的情慾並今生的驕傲，都不是從父來的，乃是從世界來的。（約壹2:16）”雅各也說，“但各人被試探，乃是被自己的私慾牽引、誘惑的。私慾既懷了胎，就生出罪來；罪既長成，就生出死來。（雅1:15-16）”可見約伯非常清楚罪的來源和形成之道，因此他一開始就講到他與眼睛立約。其實在現今的社會上，很多人跌倒就是從眼目開始，以前是看黃色書刊，現在一上電腦，時時有裸露的美女或帥哥相片就跳入眼中，若不立刻設置讓那些都消失不再出現，難免有時會感到好奇，而走錯第一步。但是約伯禁止他的眼目，不隨便去看別的女人，所以也不起淫念。

很多人心中起淫念，往往是因為看了一些色情有關的節目或雜誌，以致想入非非。心裡不乾淨，自然追求邪僻，以致害己害人。這裡我們看到約伯也起了一個咒：“我若受迷惑，向婦人起淫念，在鄰舍的門外蹲伏，就願我的妻子給別人推磨，別人也與她同室”。約伯強調自己不與虛謊同行，也不追隨詭詐。他的腳步若偏離正路，他的心若隨著我的眼目，若有玷污沾在他手上，就願他所種的有別人吃，他田所產的被拔出來。所以起咒也是一個世人為了證明自己而有的模式。因為約伯還是相信，至高的神依然在察看他所行的道路，數點他的腳步。

悲傷的絕境

2022-03-24 in , /by

〈約伯記〉30:16　現在我心極其悲傷，困苦的日子將我抓住。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉30章

人生的境遇何等難料。我們每個人都可能有過和約伯一樣的感嘆，有的人覺得今不如昔，有的人想念往日的風光，有的人埋怨上帝不聽禱告。神把約伯的例子放在我們眼前，讓我們發現我們共同的敵人，那就是我們的感覺。我們的感覺讓我們對上帝的信心搖擺不定，但是上帝始終堅定不移地看守著我們，看守著約伯，不讓撒旦得寸進尺。當我們感覺最糟的時候，也就是撒旦技窮之時，牠就快失敗了。

主耶穌說過：“那殺身體不能殺靈魂的，不要怕他們；唯有能把身體和靈魂都滅在地獄裡的，正要怕他。（太10:28）”撒旦在約伯身上所施的技倆有哪幾種呢？一是拿走約伯的兒女，二是取走約伯的財產，三是惡待約伯的身體，四是讓環境來逼迫約伯。每一種技倆都是針對人的弱點，每一種技倆都會讓人抓狂，要把人逼到絕境。張文亮老師講了一個故事，他說：「如果你在一幢房子，卻找不到走出去的路，怎麼辦？」我問學生。學生答：「我把大門撞開。」，「我會從窗戶跳出去。」，「我將牆挖洞。」，「總該有個屋頂吧？」，「冷靜地想一想，怎麼進來，就能怎麼出去。」，「打電話出去，請鎖匠來協助。」我微笑的搖搖頭，學生問道：「那麼老師呢？」我說：「我祈求上帝，給我光。」

絕境的意思就是人找不到出路，沒有解決的方法，無法可想了，那叫絕境。人一旦陷入絕境，又看不到上帝的援手時，就會發出像約伯一樣痛苦而悲傷的言語。約伯講到社會上一些最貧窮的愚妄人，竟然現在也敢來向他的臉吐唾沫，推他的腳，甚至想辦法攻擊他，欺負他，讓他不甚悲傷，覺得自己的情況已經落到比那些人還不如的地位。