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Lucky You

2022-05-12 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 23:12-22.  Let’s go!

Acts 23:12-22 (NIV)
12  The next morning the Jews formed a conspiracy and bound themselves with an oath not to eat or drink until they had killed Paul.
13  More than forty men were involved in this plot.
14  They went to the chief priests and elders and said, “We have taken a solemn oath not to eat anything until we have killed Paul.
15  Now then, you and the Sanhedrin petition the commander to bring him before you on the pretext of wanting more accurate information about his case. We are ready to kill him before he gets here.”……

On verses 12-22:  Growing up I loved watching James Bond movies.  Not only did James Bond show tremendous skill, heart, and suave as he went about his mission, but he was also extremely lucky.  In every James Bond movie, there would be some crucial moment when his life would be in grave danger and he would be spared not because of his skill, his heart or his suave, but simply because he happened to be in the right place at the right time or because someone else happened to lend him a hand.

The God Who Stands Near You

2022-05-11 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 23:1-11.  Let’s go!

Acts 23:1-5 (NIV)
1  Paul looked straight at the Sanhedrin and said, “My brothers, I have fulfilled my duty to God in all good conscience to this day.”
2  At this the high priest Ananias ordered those standing near Paul to strike him on the mouth.
3  Then Paul said to him, “God will strike you, you whitewashed wall! You sit there to judge me according to the law, yet you yourself violate the law by commanding that I be struck!”
4  Those who were standing near Paul said, “You dare to insult God’s high priest?”
5  Paul replied, “Brothers, I did not realize that he was the high priest; for it is written: ‘Do not speak evil about the ruler of your people.'” 

On verses 1-5:  Paul appears before the Jewish ruling council, the Sanhedrin.  He tells them that with a clear conscience he can say that he has fulfilled his duty to God, suggesting that those in the Sanhedrin who are upset with him are upset for no good reason.  In response, the high priest Ananias, whom historians describe as a hot-tempered and corrupt leader, orders Paul to be struck on the mouth.  Paul reacts strongly. 

正直和詭詐

2022-05-11 in , /by

〈箴言〉11:5  完全人的義必指引他的路，但惡人必因自己的惡跌倒。

閱讀經文：箴言11:5-9

5完全人的義必指引他的路，但惡人必因自己的惡跌倒。6正直人的義必拯救自己，奸詐人必陷在自己的罪孽中。7惡人一死，他的指望必滅絕，罪人的盼望也必滅沒。8義人得脫離患難，有惡人來代替他。9不虔敬的人用口敗壞鄰舍，義人卻因知識得救。

5-6節：完全人的義必指引他的路；但惡人必因自己的惡跌倒。正直人的義必拯救自己；奸詐人必陷在自己的罪孽中。

《現代中文譯本》譯為：誠實使正直人走平坦的路；邪惡人自取敗亡。正義救援忠誠人；奸詐人陷落在自己的貪婪裡。
《思高譯本》譯為：完人的正義，為他修平道路；惡人必因自己的邪惡而顛仆。正直的人，將因自己的正義而獲救；奸詐的人，反為自己的惡計所連累。

世界上有完全人嗎？除了耶穌，有誰是完全的呢？有誰是正直的？因此我們在人的中間找不到真正的義。　只有在耶穌裡的義可以指引人的路，並且拯救我們脫離撒旦所設的網羅。

「罪孽」有貪婪、惡慾的意思。在貪婪和惡慾之中所思所為，又豈能不引人至滅亡？只有在耶穌的義裡，人可以更新，有一個正確的價值觀，不再被貪婪和惡慾所迷惑及控

詭詐和公平

2022-05-10 in , /by

〈箴言〉11:1   詭詐的天平為耶和華所憎惡，公平的法碼為祂所喜悅。

閱讀經文：箴言11:1-4

1詭詐的天平為耶和華所憎惡，公平的法碼為他所喜悅。2驕傲來，羞恥也來，謙遜人卻有智慧。3正直人的純正必引導自己，奸詐人的乖僻必毀滅自己。4發怒的日子，資財無益，唯有公義能救人脫離死亡。

1節：詭詐的天平為耶和華所憎惡；公平的法碼為祂所喜悅。

《現代中文譯本》譯為：上主厭惡不準的天平；他喜愛公平的法碼。 

在聖經裡的律法書、先知書和智慧書都一致定罪不誠實、不公義的作為，因為耶和華神是一個公義的神，所以祂要祂的子民也和祂一樣行公義，有公平，不要用兩標準去行事為人。

「詭詐的天平」對於商店或銀行的東主來說是個誘惑。古巴比倫第六代國王漢摩拉比所製的巴比倫法典，在政府的司法權力範圍之內，將不 誠實之銀行家的資產充公為刑罰，試圖杜絕這種非法行徑。智慧勸誡則鼓勵人力求行為端正。在埃及智慧文學中，有位被稱為「善辯之農夫」告訴君王和大臣說，「有權給足分量的人卻虧欠百姓」是個危險的狀況。因為他希望王會認為消除這種有害作法是明智之舉。

阿摩司先知曾形容當時以色列的奸商作法──5 你們說：「月朔幾時過去，我們好賣糧；安息日幾時過去，我們好擺開麥子。賣出用小升斗，收銀用大戥子，用詭詐的天平欺哄人， 6 好用銀子買貧寒人，用一雙鞋換窮乏人，將壞了的麥子賣給人。」

他們的作法惹動神的怒氣。神雖在高天，卻能鑑察人的各樣作為，甚至心裡的意念。明白神是怎樣的神，可以幫助我們行在祂的道中，討祂的喜悅。

When Your Citizenship Can Save You

2022-05-10 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 22:17-30.  Let’s go!

Acts 22:17-21 (NIV)
17  “When I returned to Jerusalem and was praying at the temple, I fell into a trance
18  and saw the Lord speaking. ‘Quick!’ he said to me. ‘Leave Jerusalem immediately, because they will not accept your testimony about me.’
19  “‘Lord,’ I replied, ‘these men know that I went from one synagogue to another to imprison and beat those who believe in you.
20  And when the blood of your martyr Stephen was shed, I stood there giving my approval and guarding the clothes of those who were killing him.’
21  “Then the Lord said to me, ‘Go; I will send you far away to the Gentiles.'”

On verses 17-21:  In Paul’s mind, it seemed to make so much sense for him, when he first became a Christian, to stay in Jerusalem, since he was well known in Jerusalem as the most zealous persecutor of Christians and now had become a Christian himself.  But God had different plans for Paul. God knew that people were bent on killing Paul in Jerusalem, so God sends Paul far away to the Gentiles.  It turns out that there was wisdom in God’s plan after all.

When Was The Last Time You Shared THIS with Others?

2022-05-09 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 22:1-16.  Let’s go!

Acts 22:1-15 (NIV)
1  “Brothers and fathers, listen now to my defense.”
2  When they heard him speak to them in Aramaic, they became very quiet. Then Paul said:
3  “I am a Jew, born in Tarsus of Cilicia, but brought up in this city. Under Gamaliel I was thoroughly trained in the law of our fathers and was just as zealous for God as any of you are today.
4  I persecuted the followers of this Way to their death, arresting both men and women and throwing them into prison,……

On verse 15:  Paul had spent years in Jewish synagogues throughout the Roman Empire defending the Christian faith and showing from the Hebrew Scriptures how Jesus Christ is the Messiah who was destined to die for our sins, rise from death and live forever as Lord.  Yet notice that Paul doesn’t go into the Scriptures when defending himself in front of this Jewish audience, many of whom were bent on killing him.  Instead, he shares his story, his testimony of how he encountered Jesus.  It goes to show that your testimony about the way you encountered God is a powerful tool that you can use as part of defending your faith.

義人和惡人的類比

2022-05-09 in , /by

〈箴言〉10:28  義人的盼望必得喜樂，惡人的指望必致滅沒。

閱讀經文：

27敬畏耶和華使人日子加多，但惡人的年歲必被減少。28義人的盼望必得喜樂，惡人的指望必致滅沒。29耶和華的道是正直人的保障，卻成了作孽人的敗壞。30義人永不挪移，惡人不得住在地上。31義人的口滋生智慧，乖謬的舌必被割斷。32義人的嘴能令人喜悅，惡人的口說乖謬的話。

「義人的盼望，必得喜樂」(箴言十:28)。因為有喜樂的主，我們會喜樂。請不要讓我們工作，多到添皺紋。

我們的盼望，是因為有盼望的主。請不要讓苦難挪走所有的盼望，即使無望之望，主耶穌仍是我們的盼望。我們的眼界有限、思想有限、體力有限、日子有限、愛心有限，只有祂是無限。人生是行在有限的路上，過到無限的主。

如果你問海邊的沙子：「一粒沙子的盼望是什麼？」沙子會喜樂的說：「我是蒙上帝賜福的一粒沙，因為上帝曾應許『論福，我必賜大福給你…如同天上的星、海邊的沙』(創世紀二十二:17)。渺小的沙，可以類比天上的星，是上帝計福的單位。」

God Watches How You Do THIS

2022-05-08 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 21:26-40.  Let’s go!

Acts 21:26-36 (NIV)
26  The next day Paul took the men and purified himself along with them. Then he went to the temple to give notice of the date when the days of purification would end and the offering would be made for each of them.
27  When the seven days were nearly over, some Jews from the province of Asia saw Paul at the temple. They stirred up the whole crowd and seized him,
28  shouting, “Men of Israel, help us! This is the man who teaches all men everywhere against our people and our law and this place. And besides, he has brought Greeks into the temple area and defiled this holy place.”……

On verses 26-36:  Now we see why it was such a dangerous and risky idea for Paul to go to Jerusalem, and why others tried to discourage him from going.  Paul was a wanted man in Jerusalem, with many people bent on taking his life.  The violent opposition Paul faced in Jerusalem is reminiscent of what Jesus faced in Jerusalem.  Both Jesus and Paul knew that danger awaited them in Jerusalem.  In Luke 13, when people tried to discourage Jesus from going to Jerusalem, Jesus himself said, “In any case, I must keep going today and tomorrow and the next day–for surely no prophet can die outside Jerusalem!” (Luke 13:33).  Jesus even laments over the people of Jerusalem in the next verses when he says:

生命的糧

2022-05-08 in , /by

〈箴言〉10:25   暴風一過，惡人歸於無有，義人的根基卻是永久。

閱讀經文：

20 義人的舌乃似高銀，惡人的心所值無幾。21義人的口教養多人，愚昧人因無知而死亡。22耶和華所賜的福使人富足，並不加上憂慮。23愚妄人以行惡為戲耍，明哲人卻以智慧為樂。24惡人所怕的必臨到他，義人所願的必蒙應允。25暴風一過，惡人歸於無有，義人的根基卻是永久。26懶惰人叫差他的人如醋倒牙，如煙薰目。

「義人的舌，乃似高銀。」(箴言10:20)。「高銀」是經過多次精煉，才挑選出的銀。這比喻好的講道，來自如火的苦難，精煉而得。

在自然界，銀的含量非常稀少，即使是銀礦，銀的含量低於重量的千分之一。因此煉銀需要一煉再煉，才能去除雜質，顯出銀的潔白。自古以來，純銀很貴。上帝說好的講道，如特選的純銀。有苦難的粹煉，背後有上帝的保守。

歷經火煉的傳講者，是上帝的高銀。他們是銀口傳道人，上帝國度美好的珍寶。

…………………

我在1973年1月信耶穌，教會的牧者是陳中明牧師。他經常分享，講〈羅馬書〉。他容易流汗，邊講邊擦汗。他的聲音沙啞，有時氣喘不過似的。但是，他每次都講〈羅馬書〉，我們私底下稱他是「羅馬書的傳道人」。感謝主，這位牧師將聖經核心的真理，放在我的心中。

Do THIS, But Remember You Can’t Please Everybody

2022-05-06 in /by

Hi  GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 21:15-25.  Let’s go!

Acts 21:15-25 (NIV)
15  After this, we got ready and went up to Jerusalem.
16  Some of the disciples from Caesarea accompanied us and brought us to the home of Mnason, where we were to stay. He was a man from Cyprus and one of the early disciples.
17  When we arrived at Jerusalem, the brothers received us warmly.
18  The next day Paul and the rest of us went to see James, and all the elders were present……

On verses 15-20:  Paul and his team finally reach Jerusalem.  The Jerusalem church elders, including James, praise God after hearing Paul’s reports about what God did among the Gentiles through Paul’s ministry.  However, while Paul was away from Jerusalem, a new concern had arisen for the Jerusalem church.  According to the ancient historian Josephus, the mid 50s were a time of intense nationalism and anti-Roman sentiment among the Jewish people in Jerusalem, as evidenced by numerous revolts that the Jews launched against the Roman empire.  Thus many Jews in Jerusalem did not like the idea that Paul was reaching non-Jewish people throughout the Roman empire.  Even more, they thought that Paul was teaching Jewish Christians living outside of Jerusalem to completely disregard the law of Moses.