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我持定我的義

2022-03-21 in , /by

〈約伯記〉27:6我持定我的義，必不放鬆；在世的日子，我心必不責備我。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉27章

約伯說“神奪去我的理”，好像在《聖經》裡也曾經有人說過類似的話，你記得嗎？那個人說：“我發怒以至於死，都合乎理”。看到神赦免尼尼微城的人，先知約拿氣到口不擇言。他覺得他發怒以至於死，都合乎理，理是在他約拿那邊的，神太無理。約伯也說神奪去了他的理，他本來有理，但是神使他變得無理，所以是神無理。但是誰有理，誰無理，我們這些事後諸葛亮都看得很清楚。

美國敬虔的足球四分衛Tim Tebow（科比）曾被謠傳和環球小姐OliviaCulpo（奧莉薇亞）分手，理由是因為他不願意在婚前發生性關係。有人拿這消息炒作，說他根本就不應該和那類女性交往，並以此大作文章警戒信徒。但是科比的發言人說，那些都是八卦新聞的炒作，只因為奧莉薇亞有一次去科比的教會，就被影射成他們兩人在交往，實際上他們根本連約會都未曾有過。對科比而言，他身處一個壓力很大的環境裡，在他身邊幾乎所有的人都對性都很隨便，只有他一支獨秀，排除所有的異見，單單以《聖經》的教導為至寶。

約伯在他的朋友攻擊之下，雖然覺得神奪走了他的理，以致於朋友和妻子都覺得他沒理。但是他依然決定：“我的嘴決不說非義之言，我的舌也不說詭詐之語”。人在被激怒的情況下最容易失去理智，說出讓自己後悔的話，但是約伯拒絕讓憤怒或悲傷控制他的舌頭。在這裡，我們可以稍微明白，為何摩西在書卷的開頭就形容約是個義人，完全，正直，且敬畏神，遠離惡事。雅各說：“若有人在話語上沒有過失，他就是完全人，也能勒住自己的全身”（各3:2）。約伯在苦難之中，不斷地被朋友指責，但是他仍然立志不說非義之言，不說詭詐之語，這是何等值得我們學習。

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). 

神將北極鋪在空中

2022-03-20 in , /by

〈約伯記〉26:7  神將北極鋪在空中，將大地懸在虛空。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉25-26章

有位姐妹有一次吃魚時吞得太快，把魚骨也吞下了。結果魚骨卡在喉嚨裡，不上不下，讓她越來越不舒服，連吞口水也會痛。但是可能卡得太深了，她去找醫院檢查後，醫生竟然看不到有魚骨，於是約她第二天去做胃鏡。第二天做完一連串的檢查後，沒想到醫生說沒有看到任何東西在裡面。這時她的家人和朋友都開始不相信她，認為她只是胡思亂想。但是魚骨在她喉嚨裡，真的很痛，很不舒服啊！因此她開始禱告，尋求主的幫助。有一天她的同事感冒要去看醫生，她便陪同事一起去了。又請那位醫生幫她看看魚骨還在不在。那位醫生非常細心，很認真地找了一遍，真的找到魚骨，把它夾出來了。多麼令人欣喜的後果，但是在沒有人相信的過程中，又是何等令人沮喪！

約伯此時也是在沒有人願意相信他沒有犯罪的過程裡。書亞人比勒達在這幾次的發言裡都排在以利法的後面，可能因為以利法的年記最大吧。他第一個指責（或許）約伯的兒女作惡，罪有應得（伯8:4）；並且暗示約伯可能因而無子無孫（伯18:19）。他的言語之激烈雖比不上瑣法，但其尖鋭卻有過之而無不及。這是比勒達第三次的發言。他看世人“如蛆如蟲”，不僅不潔淨，更不能稱義。當然，如此一來，他把自己也罵進去了。

約伯的態度開始轉變了，他不再訴說自己的苦楚，不再希望他的朋友可以理解他的苦難。他開始用嘲笑的方式來回答比勒達。他笑比勒達幫助不了無能的人，拯救不了膀臂無力的人，也指教不了無智慧的人。表示比勒達所講皆是虛言，不值一聽。既然你要提到神，那麼就來看看誰對神的理解更深！在約伯的發揮裡，他為我們掀開了一部份宇宙的奧秘，使我們可以稍微一窺神的創造之奧秒神奇。

言善人惡人死亡無異

2022-03-18 in , /by

〈約伯記〉24:22 然而神用能力保全有勢力的人，那性命難保的人仍然興起。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉24章

台灣某食品企業曾因為製作黑心油一審，卻被判無罪一事，令台灣百姓無不憤慨萬分。該公司自2008年以來從香港進口動物飼料油，累積56批共2385噸豬油，偷天換日加工成劣質食用油，他們期下的產品很多是民眾喜愛的日用食物，為害人群甚眾。如此作法，居然被判無罪，真是司法不公。我們現在排拒的基因改造食品，也是同樣對人體有害，始作佣者仍然在發不義之財，讓眾人頗感無奈，只求自保。比起約伯列舉的惡人，這些在飲食上蠶害大眾的人，又有誰去制裁他們呢？

約伯列舉的例子和受害者真是一個極大的對比。惡人搶奪群畜，拉去孤兒的驢，強取寡婦的牛為當頭，使貧窮人如同野驢出到曠野，殷勤尋找食物，靠著野地給兒女糊口，終夜赤身無衣，天氣寒冷毫無遮蓋，使人赤身無衣，且因飢餓扛抬禾捆，在那些人的圍牆內造油，榨酒自己還口渴。這些都是惡人欺負窮人的真相。當然，你可能可以列舉更多的例子，使人感到哀鴻遍野，不僅無人理會，神也不理會。

但是當我們讀先知書時，我們就曉得神不是不理會。神差遣祂的先知和使者一個又一個，去警戒世人，但是他們不僅把先知的話當作耳邊風，還殺害先知，到最後還把神的兒子釘上十字架。神不是不管，神只是希望用愛和包容使世人知道悔改，並且給人有悔改的時間。但是世人的心和神的心不一樣，當我們看到惡人行惡時，就像約伯說的，為什麼不讓他們立刻受到報應？這樣不是更可以警戒世人嗎？

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.

試煉之後必如精金

2022-03-17 in , /by

〈約伯記〉23:10　然而祂知道我所行的路，祂試煉我之後，我必如精金。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉23章

在約伯每一天的哀告中，都被朋友認為是悖逆，但是他覺得他的怨訴根本道不完身心所受的痛苦。即使如此，他只想希望能面對神，為自己辯白。他相信神一定會理會這個案子。約伯不知道為何他要經歷這些憂患苦難，但是他相信只有在神那裡，可以還給他一個公道。只是約伯滿心悽楚，因為神好像消失了。約伯找不到神，是他心裡最大的苦。你還記不記得主耶穌在十字架上最痛苦的那一刻，就是當他呼喊出：“以利！以利！拉馬撒巴各大尼？”的時候。

“我的神！我的神！為什麼離棄我？”你有沒有經歷過這樣黑暗的時刻？忽然之間，你的老闆叫你明天不用來上班了。忽然之間，你的配偶說他（她）已經另外有了家庭，請你放過他（她），在離婚紙上簽字。忽然之間，醫生宣佈，你已經有了什麼癌第四期。彷彿掉入深坑，找不到路了。當我們不斷地問：“為什麼？為什麼是我？”時，我們想找神來領我們走出恐怖的幽谷，卻找不到神的手，看不見祂的影子。你想問神，可否有解決的方法？現在應該怎麼辦？回答你的，卻是風的響聲。

但是，約伯在他的困擾中彷彿明白了一件事：既然，他未曾背棄神的命令，看重神口中的言語，那麼這些事是個試煉嗎？假如是個試煉，那麼神必然明白，即使在患難之中，約伯依然全心尋求祂，倚靠祂，盼望祂，因此當試煉過後，約伯會像被煉盡雜質的金子，在神面前成為精金。宣教士楊宓貴靈在她的見證裡提過，她剛剛奉獻給神不久，就碰到了很多人事的問題。經過很多禱告之後，她才發現，原來藉著那些問題，神讓她看見自己生命中的雜質。例如：缺乏忍耐，不夠愛心、嫉妒、虛偽、驕傲，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.

以利法歷指約伯之罪

2022-03-16 in , /by

〈約伯記〉22:21 你要認識神，就得平安，福氣也必臨到你。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉22章

以利法，智慧的老者，以深明大義的口吻來指責約伯。他講的有句話頗有道理。“人豈能使神有益呢”，我們能做何善事，使神得到益處？有誰能使神增添什麼或減少什麼？當然不能。但是人的公義，豈是為了讓全能者喜悅？我想還是會吧，我們若行公義的事，正符合神的要求，不是嗎？在〈彌迦書〉六章8節，先知說：“世人哪！耶和華已指示你何為善。祂向你所要的是什麼呢？只要你行公義，好憐憫，存謙卑的心，與你的神同行。”所以行公義才可以討神喜悅，卻也不能說神就因而受益了。

以利法接著數算約伯的罪狀：“因你無故強取弟兄的物為當頭，剝去貧寒人的衣服。困乏的人，你沒有給他水喝；飢餓的人，你沒有給他食物。你打發寡婦空手回去，折斷孤兒的膀臂”。在我們這個時代，假如以利法沒有證據的話，約伯就可以告他譭謗了。約伯何時強取弟兄的當頭？剝去貧寒人的衣服？在第一章裡，摩西記載約伯是個完全人，正直，敬畏神，遠離惡事。這樣的人怎麼會做出以利法指控的事情？難道當時約伯十分富有，就說他完全、正直；現在約伯潦倒了，就變成一個罪孽甚大，沒有窮盡的人？並且他還希望“有網羅環繞你，有恐懼忽然使你驚惶；或有黑暗蒙蔽你，並有洪水淹沒你。”有時候，人情冷暖的轉變，令人不寒而慄。怎麼可以這樣黑心咒詛朋友呢？

所以人的怒氣並不成就神的義。人一生氣就亂講話，講出許多自己回想後十分後悔的話。連以利法這樣年老有智慧的人，也無法控制自己，而被怒氣駕馭。怒氣像一頭瘋狂的馬，會毫無目的橫衝直撞。喜歡生氣的人，日子不好過，因為無法建立良性的人際關係；有很多打人、殺人的案子也都是因怒氣而生。所以我們要學習控制怒氣，不然怒氣就會把我們帶到險地。