Entries by

God’s Unstoppable Church

2022-03-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 5:33-42.  Let’s go! 

Acts 5:33-40 (NIV)
33  When they heard this, they were furious and wanted to put them to death.
34  But a Pharisee named Gamaliel, a teacher of the law, who was honored by all the people, stood up in the Sanhedrin and ordered that the men be put outside for a little while.
35  Then he addressed them: “Men of Israel, consider carefully what you intend to do to these men.
36  Some time ago Theudas appeared, claiming to be somebody, and about four hundred men rallied to him. He was killed, all his followers were dispersed, and it all came to nothing.
37  After him, Judas the Galilean appeared in the days of the census and led a band of people in revolt. He too was killed, and all his followers were scattered.
38  Therefore, in the present case I advise you: Leave these men alone! Let them go! For if their purpose or activity is of human origin, it will fail.
39  But if it is from God, you will not be able to stop these men; you will only find yourselves fighting against God.”
40  His speech persuaded them.  They called the apostles in and had them flogged. Then they ordered them not to speak in the name of Jesus, and let them go.
 
On verses 33-40:   The Sanhedrin, which is the assembly of Israel’s elders (Acts 5:21), wants to put the apostles to death for refusing to obey the Sanhedrin’s orders not to preach about Jesus (v33).  But Gamaliel, who is both a Pharisee and a teacher of the law and who is highly respected by the people, uses his considerable influence to move the Sanhedrin in another direction.  Ordering the apostles to wait outside, Gamaliel speaks to the Sanhedrin and asks them to carefully consider their next step (v35).   He cites two previous movements, one led by Theudas who apparently claimed to be a Messiah-like figure (v36) and another led by Judas who revolted against the Roman government census (v37).  These two movements came and went and ultimately amounted to nothing. 

When It’s Not Politically Correct To Obey God

2022-03-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 5:17-32.  Let’s go! 

Acts 5:17-25 (NIV)
17  Then the high priest and all his associates, who were members of the party of the Sadducees, were filled with jealousy.
18  They arrested the apostles and put them in the public jail.
19  But during the night an angel of the Lord opened the doors of the jail and brought them out.
20  “Go, stand in the temple courts,” he said, “and tell the people the full message of this new life.”
21  At daybreak they entered the temple courts, as they had been told, and began to teach the people. When the high priest and his associates arrived, they called together the Sanhedrin–the full assembly of the elders of Israel–and sent to the jail for the apostles.
22  But on arriving at the jail, the officers did not find them there. So they went back and reported,
23  “We found the jail securely locked, with the guards standing at the doors; but when we opened them, we found no one inside.”
24  On hearing this report, the captain of the temple guard and the chief priests were puzzled, wondering what would come of this.
25  Then someone came and said, “Look! The men you put in jail are standing in the temple courts teaching the people.”
 
On verses 17-25:  The high priest is jealous of the apostles and the positive attention they were getting from the miracles God had enabled them to perform.  The high priest throws the apostles in jail.  Yet miraculously God sends an angel to deliver the apostles, taking them out of jail without being noticed.  At daybreak the next morning, the high priest finds the apostles in the temple courts telling people “the full message of this life” (v20). 

神将北极铺在空中

2022-03-20 in , /by

〈约伯记〉26:7  神将北极铺在空中，将大地悬在虚空。

阅读经文：〈约伯记〉25-26章

有位姐妹有一次吃鱼时吞得太快，把鱼骨也吞下了。结果鱼骨卡在喉咙里，不上不下，让她越来越不舒服，连吞口水也会痛。但是可能卡得太深了，她去找医院检查后，医生竟然看不到有鱼骨，于是约她第二天去做胃镜。第二天做完一连串的检查后，没想到医生说没有看到任何东西在里面。这时她的家人和朋友都开始不相信她，认为她只是胡思乱想。但是鱼骨在她喉咙里，真的很痛，很不舒服啊！因此她开始祷告，寻求主的帮助。有一天她的同事感冒要去看医生，她便陪同事一起去了。又请那位医生帮她看看鱼骨还在不在。那位医生非常细心，很认真地找了一遍，真的找到鱼骨，把它夹出来了。多么令人欣喜的后果，但是在没有人相信的过程中，又是何等令人沮丧！

约伯此时也是在没有人愿意相信他没有犯罪的过程里。书亚人比勒达在这几次的发言里都排在以利法的后面，可能因为以利法的年记最大吧。他第一个指责（或许）约伯的儿女作恶，罪有应得（伯8:4）；并且暗示约伯可能因而无子无孙（伯18:19）。他的言语之激烈虽比不上琐法，但其尖锐却有过之而无不及。这是比勒达第三次的发言。他看世人“如蛆如虫”，不仅不洁净，更不能称义。当然，如此一来，他把自己也骂进去了。

约伯的态度开始转变了，他不再诉说自己的苦楚，不再希望他的朋友可以理解他的苦难。他开始用嘲笑的方式来回答比勒达。他笑比勒达帮助不了无能的人，拯救不了膀臂无力的人，也指教不了无智慧的人。表示比勒达所讲皆是虚言，不值一听。既然你要提到神，那么就来看看谁对神的理解更深！在约伯的发挥里，他为我们掀开了一部份宇宙的奥秘，使我们可以稍微一窥神的创造之奥秒神奇。

言善人恶人死亡无异

2022-03-18 in , /by

〈约伯记〉24:22 然而神用能力保全有势力的人，那性命难保的人仍然兴起。

阅读经文：〈约伯记〉24章

台湾某食品企业曾因为制作黑心油一审，却被判无罪一事，令台湾百姓无不愤慨万分。该公司自2008年以来从香港进口动物饲料油，累积56批共2385吨猪油，偷天换日加工成劣质食用油，他们期下的产品很多是民众喜爱的日用食物，为害人群甚众。如此作法，居然被判无罪，真是司法不公。我们现在排拒的基因改造食品，也是同样对人体有害，始作佣者仍然在发不义之财，让众人颇感无奈，只求自保。比起约伯列举的恶人，这些在饮食上蚕害大众的人，又有谁去制裁他们呢？

约伯列举的例子和受害者真是一个极大的对比。恶人抢夺群畜，拉去孤儿的驴，强取寡妇的牛为当头，使贫穷人如同野驴出到旷野，殷勤寻找食物，靠着野地给儿女糊口，终夜赤身无衣，天气寒冷毫无遮盖，使人赤身无衣，且因饥饿扛抬禾捆，在那些人的围墙内造油，榨酒自己还口渴。这些都是恶人欺负穷人的真相。当然，你可能可以列举更多的例子，使人感到哀鸿遍野，不仅无人理会，神也不理会。

但是当我们读先知书时，我们就晓得神不是不理会。神差遣祂的先知和使者一个又一个，去警戒世人，但是他们不仅把先知的话当作耳边风，还杀害先知，到最后还把神的儿子钉上十字架。神不是不管，神只是希望用爱和包容使世人知道悔改，并且给人有悔改的时间。但是世人的心和神的心不一样，当我们看到恶人行恶时，就像约伯说的，为什么不让他们立刻受到报应？这样不是更可以警戒世人吗？

Integrity Matters

2022-03-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 5:1-16.  Let’s go!

Acts 5:1-11 (NIV)
1  Now a man named Ananias, together with his wife Sapphira, also sold a piece of property.
2  With his wife’s full knowledge he kept back part of the money for himself, but brought the rest and put it at the apostles’ feet.
3  Then Peter said, “Ananias, how is it that Satan has so filled your heart that you have lied to the Holy Spirit and have kept for yourself some of the money you received for the land?
4  Didn’t it belong to you before it was sold? And after it was sold, wasn’t the money at your disposal? What made you think of doing such a thing? You have not lied to men but to God.”
5  When Ananias heard this, he fell down and died. And great fear seized all who heard what had happened.
6  Then the young men came forward, wrapped up his body, and carried him out and buried him.
7  About three hours later his wife came in, not knowing what had happened.
8  Peter asked her, “Tell me, is this the price you and Ananias got for the land?” “Yes,” she said, “that is the price.”
9  Peter said to her, “How could you agree to test the Spirit of the Lord? Look! The feet of the men who buried your husband are at the door, and they will carry you out also.”
10  At that moment she fell down at his feet and died. Then the young men came in and, finding her dead, carried her out and buried her beside her husband.
11  Great fear seized the whole church and all who heard about these events.

On verses 1-11:  What exactly did Ananias and Sapphira do wrong here?  Weren’t they generous in giving money to the church?  Did God strike them down simply because they kept a bit of the money for themselves?  Are we not allowed to keep anything for ourselves when we sell something?

How Situations Change with Prayer and God’s Word

2022-03-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 4:23-37.  There are many powerful lessons we can learn from this passage.  Let’s go! 

Acts 4:23-36 (NIV)
23  On their release, Peter and John went back to their own people and reported all that the chief priests and elders had said to them.
24  When they heard this, they raised their voices together in prayer to God. “Sovereign Lord,” they said, “you made the heaven and the earth and the sea, and everything in them.
25  You spoke by the Holy Spirit through the mouth of your servant, our father David: “‘Why do the nations rage and the peoples plot in vain?
26  The kings of the earth take their stand and the rulers gather together against the Lord and against his Anointed One.
 
On verses 24-26:  Notice how much the early church relied on two habits: prayer and studying the Scriptures.  Before the books of Acts, we see no record of the disciples searching and quoting the Scriptures themselves, but now after seeing the resurrected Jesus and after being filled with the Holy Spirit, the Scriptures become so important and alive to them.  They begin to use the Scriptures to preach, to pray and to make decisions.  Here in verses 25-26 these Christians are quoting Psalm 2:1-2 in their prayer.
 
What can we learn from this?  The Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures go hand in hand.  If you want to grow in your relationship with God, you need to cherish both the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures.  When you draw near to the Holy Spirit, He gives you insight to the Scriptures, and your understanding of the Scriptures in turn teaches you how to relate to the Holy Spirit.  When you have the Holy Spirit but spend no time in the Holy Scriptures, you blow up.  When you spend much in the Holy Scriptures but don’t rely on the Holy Spirit, you dry up.  But when you have both the Holy Spirit and the Holy Scriptures working together, you grow up.

试炼之后必如精金

2022-03-17 in , /by

〈约伯记〉23:10　然而祂知道我所行的路，祂试炼我之后，我必如精金。

阅读经文：〈约伯记〉23章

在约伯每一天的哀告中，都被朋友认为是悖逆，但是他觉得他的怨诉根本道不完身心所受的痛苦。即使如此，他只想希望能面对神，为自己辩白。他相信神一定会理会这个案子。约伯不知道为何他要经历这些忧患苦难，但是他相信只有在神那里，可以还给他一个公道。只是约伯满心悽楚，因为神好像消失了。约伯找不到神，是他心里最大的苦。你还记不记得主耶稣在十字架上最痛苦的那一刻，就是当他呼喊出：“以利！以利！拉马撒巴各大尼？”的时候。

“我的神！我的神！为什么离弃我？”你有没有经历过这样黑暗的时刻？忽然之间，你的老板叫你明天不用来上班了。忽然之间，你的配偶说他（她）已经另外有了家庭，请你放过他（她），在离婚纸上签字。忽然之间，医生宣布，你已经有了什么癌第四期。仿佛掉入深坑，找不到路了。当我们不断地问：“为什么？为什么是我？”时，我们想找神来领我们走出恐怖的幽谷，却找不到神的手，看不见祂的影子。你想问神，可否有解决的方法？现在应该怎么办？回答你的，却是风的响声。

但是，约伯在他的困扰中仿佛明白了一件事：既然，他未曾背弃神的命令，看重神口中的言语，那么这些事是个试炼吗？假如是个试炼，那么神必然明白，即使在患难之中，约伯依然全心寻求祂，倚靠祂，盼望祂，因此当试炼过后，约伯会像被炼尽杂质的金子，在神面前成为精金。宣教士杨宓贵灵在她的见证里提过，她刚刚奉献给神不久，就碰到了很多人事的问题。经过很多祷告之后，她才发现，原来借着那些问题，神让她看见自己生命中的杂质。例如：缺乏忍耐，不够爱心、嫉妒、虚伪、骄傲，等等。

The Most Important Proof that Jesus is Alive

2022-03-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 4:13-22.  Let’s go!

Acts 4:13 (NIV)
13  When they saw the courage of Peter and John and realized that they were unschooled, ordinary men, they were astonished and they took note that these men had been with Jesus.

On verse 13:  Peter and John did not have any formal education, but they had spent three years with the Word, Jesus Christ.  You don’t need to have a formal education or spectacular worldly credentials to be used by God.  In the end, all you need is to have been with the Word, Jesus Christ.  The more you’ve been with the Word, Jesus Christ, who is wisdom personified, the more He gives you wisdom to live, to do relationships, to pursue God-given dreams and to serve His people.

Acts 4:14 (NIV)
14  But since they could see the man who had been healed standing there with them, there was nothing they could say.

On verse 14:  People can try to argue and criticize, but there isn’t much a person can say in response to a life that is changed for the better.  The most important proof you can give to someone that Jesus is alive is a life transformed for the better because of Jesus.

以利法历指约伯之罪

2022-03-16 in , /by

〈约伯记〉22:21 你要认识神，就得平安，福气也必临到你。

阅读经文：〈约伯记〉22章

以利法，智慧的老者，以深明大义的口吻来指责约伯。他讲的有句话颇有道理。“人岂能使神有益呢”，我们能做何善事，使神得到益处？有谁能使神增添什么或减少什么？当然不能。但是人的公义，岂是为了让全能者喜悦？我想还是会吧，我们若行公义的事，正符合神的要求，不是吗？在〈弥迦书〉六章8节，先知说：“世人哪！耶和华已指示你何为善。祂向你所要的是什么呢？只要你行公义，好怜悯，存谦卑的心，与你的神同行。”所以行公义才可以讨神喜悦，却也不能说神就因而受益了。

以利法接着数算约伯的罪状：“因你无故强取弟兄的物为当头，剥去贫寒人的衣服。困乏的人，你没有给他水喝；饥饿的人，你没有给他食物。你打发寡妇空手回去，折断孤儿的膀臂”。在我们这个时代，假如以利法没有证据的话，约伯就可以告他毁谤了。约伯何时强取弟兄的当头？剥去贫寒人的衣服？在第一章里，摩西记载约伯是个完全人，正直，敬畏神，远离恶事。这样的人怎么会做出以利法指控的事情？难道当时约伯十分富有，就说他完全、正直；现在约伯潦倒了，就变成一个罪孽甚大，没有穷尽的人？并且他还希望“有网罗环绕你，有恐惧忽然使你惊惶；或有黑暗蒙蔽你，并有洪水淹没你。”有时候，人情冷暖的转变，令人不寒而栗。怎么可以这样黑心咒诅朋友呢？

所以人的怒气并不成就神的义。人一生气就乱讲话，讲出许多自己回想后十分后悔的话。连以利法这样年老有智慧的人，也无法控制自己，而被怒气驾驭。怒气像一头疯狂的马，会毫无目的横冲直撞。喜欢生气的人，日子不好过，因为无法建立良性的人际关系；有很多打人、杀人的案子也都是因怒气而生。所以我们要学习控制怒气，不然怒气就会把我们带到险地。

The One Name That Saves

2022-03-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 4:1-12.  Let’s go!

Acts 4:1-4 (NIV)
1  The priests and the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees came up to Peter and John while they were speaking to the people.
2  They were greatly disturbed because the apostles were teaching the people and proclaiming in Jesus the resurrection of the dead.
3  They seized Peter and John, and because it was evening, they put them in jail until the next day.
4  But many who heard the message believed, and the number of men grew to about five thousand.

On verses 1-4:  The Sadducees were a group that did not believe in the idea of resurrection and were big critics of anyone who preached it (see for example Matthew 22:23, Mark 12:18 and Acts 23:8).  According to Acts 5:17, the high priest and all his associates were members of the Sadducees.   This suggests that the whole priesthood and temple leadership at that time were influenced by the belief that there is no such thing as resurrection.  So when word gets around that Peter and John are proclaiming that in Jesus Christ the dead are resurrected, the priests, the captain of the temple guard and the Sadducees all come up to Peter and John and use their authority to put Peter and John in jail.  But instead of curtailing the Christian movement, these actions only seemed to give it more momentum.  The men in the church were now numbering about five thousand, meaning that there conceivably could have been more ten thousand men, women and children professing faith in Jesus by this time.