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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.

約伯述惡人未受報應

2022-03-15 in , /by

〈約伯記〉21:34 你們對答的話中既都錯謬，怎麼徒然安慰我呢？

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉21章

聽完瑣法的話之後，約伯卻說出一番令人吃驚的回答。但是他的回答，卻是許多人心中的疑問。就像大衛王在〈詩篇〉10篇問的：“耶和華啊，祢為什麼站在遠處？在患難的時候為什麼隱藏？惡人面帶驕傲，說：‘耶和華必不追究。’他一切所想的，都以為沒有神。凡他所做的，時常穩固，祢的審判超過他的眼界。至於他一切的敵人，他都向他們噴氣。他心裡說：‘我必不動搖，世世代代不遭災難。’他滿口是咒罵、詭詐、欺壓，舌底是毒害、奸惡。他屈身蹲伏，無倚無靠的人就倒在他爪牙之下。他心裡說：‘神竟忘記了，他掩面永不觀看。’”

瑣法說惡人終必滅亡，像自己的糞一樣；惡人的兒女要求窮人的恩，他的手要賠還不義之財；他因貪而無厭，所喜悅的連一樣也不能保守，等等。但是約伯卻問：“惡人為何存活，享大壽數，勢力強盛呢？”這也是許多人的問題。很多貪官污吏，壓榨百姓，但是他們不但沒遭報應，反而住大房子，盛氣凌人。“他們的家宅平安無懼，神的杖也不加在他們身上”，從外表看過去，他們都很平安啊，不管做了多少黑心生意，兒女一個個開名車穿名牌，神的杖在哪裡？“他們的公牛孳生而不斷絕，母牛下犢而不掉胎”，用現在的比喻，或可以說，他們玩弄股票巿場，盡賺不賠。“他們隨著琴鼓歌唱，又因簫聲歡喜”，他們經常去夜總會和高級酒家，吃喝玩樂，縱情聲色。“他們度日諸事亨通”，看起來非常寫意的人生，但是約伯不忘加上一句：“轉眼下入陰間”。約伯不但反應快，而且還挺幽默的。一轉眼就給他下陰間了。

就像大衛在〈詩篇〉37篇裡說：“還有片時，惡人要歸於無有，你就是細察他的住處，也要歸於無有”（v.10）。所以惡人雖然不信有神，不信神會審判，神會報應。但是一到陰間，就知道大事不妙。但是約伯說，為何要等到下陰間或是讓其兒女受苦呢？“我說不如本人受報，好使他親自知道”。這也是一般人的想法，假如人做了惡事，立刻遭報，還有誰敢亂來？

You’re Uniquely Blessed to Be a Blessing

2022-03-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 3:12-26.  Let’s go! 

Acts 3:12-16 (NIV)
12  When Peter saw this, he said to them: “Men of Israel, why does this surprise you? Why do you stare at us as if by our own power or godliness we had made this man walk?
13  The God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, the God of our fathers, has glorified his servant Jesus. You handed him over to be killed, and you disowned him before Pilate, though he had decided to let him go.
14  You disowned the Holy and Righteous One and asked that a murderer be released to you.
15  You killed the author of life, but God raised him from the dead. We are witnesses of this.
16  By faith in the name of Jesus, this man whom you see and know was made strong. It is Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through him that has given this complete healing to him, as you can all see.
 
On verses 12-16:  As Peter speaks to a Jewish audience that has just seen this crippled man healed, notice a few things:
 
–        Instead of taking credit for this healing, Peter credits Jesus’ name and the faith that comes through Him as giving complete healing to this once crippled man. 
 
–        Notice the words Peter uses to describe Jesus.  Peter calls Jesus a servant of the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob (v13).  He calls Jesus “the Holy and Righteous One” (v14).  He calls Jesus “the author of life” (v15).  In other words, Peter presents Jesus as the Messiah Israel has been waiting for, the one Israel was made to worship.
 

在胃酸與蛇毒看到上帝造物之美

2022-03-14 in , /by

〈約伯記〉20:5 惡人誇勝是暫時的，不敬虔人的喜樂不過轉眼之間嗎？

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉20章

今天要和大家分享張文亮教授寫的〈在胃酸與蛇毒看到上帝造物之美〉。拿瑪人瑣法聽到約伯的辯白後十分激動，不僅咒詛約伯，連他的兒女也不放過。瑣法所言的咒詛包羅萬象，彷彿一個失去理智的人，瘋狂地攻擊一個在受苦中的人。我們有時聽到人家對我們負面的批評時也會有類似的反應，因為沒有人喜歡被批被攻擊。但是約伯的朋友若能不懷偏見去聆聽約伯，或許他們會明白，約伯實際上是在向神懇求，要明白自己究竟何處得罪神，並不是要抵禦神。他們聽話聽一半，所以只覺得受到人身攻擊而反擊了。以下便是張教授的讀經筆記。

在大學裡有一門迷人的課叫「環境化學」（environmental chemistry），介紹各種污染與毒性的化學機制，與去除污染或減輕毒性的方法。在我任教的科系裡，環境化學是大二的必修課，我教授這門課已近二十 年，管他上課時學生是否或趴、或睡、或流口水，教這門課多年，我從不覺得厭煩，我常在課堂興高采烈，講到口沫橫飛，似乎進入不見眾人，只見耶穌的境界，因 為課本上許多內容，總是讓我體會上帝的奇妙。

胃液──保護人體的第一線

例如在環境化學的「生化反應」，上到胃蛋白酵素（pepsin）的代謝功能，我就會很high、很喜樂，每一年教到那一章，就會重新high一次，就 像老狗看到老骨頭，不自覺的會搖尾巴。我會high的原因，是胃液中的胃蛋白酵素最高活性，必須在pH接近2的環境，才能將食物（肉、蛋、菜）中所含的蛋 白質分解，而我們的胃液實在是酸，pH總在1.5-2.0之間。

There is Healing and Hope in Jesus’ Name

2022-03-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 3:1-11.  Let’s go!

Acts 3:1 (NIV)
1  One day Peter and John were going up to the temple at the time of prayer–at three in the afternoon.

On verse 1:  At this point the early church was still comprised entirely of Jewish Christians.  Thus these early Christians would continue the habit of going to the Jewish temple to worship God.  Later on, as more and more non-Jewish (Gentile) people became Christians, the early church would need to tackle the question of whether these Gentile Christians had to follow Jewish customs like going to the temple.  In the meantime, here we see Peter and John going to the temple just like other Jews.  The traditional temple prayer times included 9am, 3pm and sunset.

Acts 3:2 (NIV)
2  Now a man crippled from birth was being carried to the temple gate called Beautiful, where he was put every day to beg from those going into the temple courts.

On verse 2:  I wonder who put the crippled man at the temple gate called Beautiful every day.  Who put him there?  Whoever it was, I bet it was someone who believed that if there was anywhere in the world that a crippled man should be able to find hope, it’s at the gate of the place where people worshiped God.

我知道我的救贖主活著

2022-03-13 in , /by

〈約伯記〉19:25 我知道我的救贖主活著，末了必站立在地上。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉19章

在《聖經》裡，你會發現很多優美和犀利的言詞。約伯雖然失去子女和財產，並且身體受苦，但是他的意志和心思依然十分敏銳，並不因疾病而變得遲緩或呆滯。昨天我看到有人拿教會兒童主日學教導的一夫一妻制上網嘲笑，當我正在思想應該怎樣回應時，聖靈就賜下當講的話。我寫，“這個社會上人人都有自由，你有喜歡同性戀的自由，我有喜歡異性戀的自由。但你不可以因為你喜歡同性戀就來眨低教會的教導。教會之所以為教會，就因為它有不同的教導。你不會去問回教、猶太教、印度教，他們對夫妻的定義。那麼也不要踐踏別人的權利和自由”。後來就沒有人繼續嘲笑了。

該容忍時要容忍，但是為了我們的下一代，為了我們的子孫，該說話時一定要說。約伯的反擊十分犀利：“你們攪擾我的心，用言語壓碎我，要到幾時呢？你們這十次羞辱我，你們苦待我也不以為恥”。探病探到病人說你羞辱他？未免太沒面子了。苦待一個病人，實在沒良心。還說是好朋友？這使我想到大衛在〈詩篇〉64篇裡的禱告：“求祢把我隱藏，使我脫離作惡之人的暗謀和作孽之人的擾亂。他們磨舌如刀，發出苦毒的言語，好像比準了的箭，要在暗地射完全人”（詩64:2-4）。現在約伯感到的可能就是磨舌如刀後所發出的言語，刀刀割肉，箭箭穿心。

約伯比喻神用網羅圍繞他，用籬笆攔住他的道路，又使他的路徑黑暗。他找不到出路，他看不到前景，他無法躲避神的攻擊。神又使他孤獨認識的都與他生疏，親戚與他斷絕，密友都不來往。連在他家寄居的和使喚的，都把他當外人看待，僕人也不理他。個個都不想靠近他。連最親密的妻子也厭惡他的氣味。一身無完膚，只剩牙皮！

不要作個尖牙利齒的人

2022-03-11 in , /by

〈約伯記〉18:5　惡人的亮光必要熄滅，他的火焰必不照耀。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉18章

謝謝張文亮教授概允引用他的〈約伯記〉筆記，使我們有機會從一個專家的眼光來明白約伯和朋友們說的比喻。張教授有更多文章刊登在河馬教授的網站，歡迎大家多去閱讀。今天要來看看張教授這一篇：〈不要作個尖牙利齒的人〉，對比勒達的形容。

比勒達是生氣了，他第二次發言時，也許是等太久了，幾乎用謾罵取代勸勉，用咒詛取代祝福。很難想像一個飽讀史書、知書達禮的智者，一轉眼就變成尖牙利 嘴的咒罵者。這也許是喜好歷史者容易滋生的苦悶，看不慣別人時，就容易產生苦毒。他在第二次發言時，責罵約伯是「惡人」（wicked）。

惡人也有改變時

什麼是惡人？比勒達眼中的惡人是不敬虔的人，有自己的亮光，卻不靠上帝的光，他說那亮光必要熄滅。他也認為惡人是離開正道、偏行己路的人。他在這一點 的論述上，呈現他豐富的字彙與詞藻，「網」、「網羅」、「圈套」、「機關」、「活扣」、「羈絆」會將惡人絆倒，使他們不能往前。他也認為惡人是不義的人， 所以飢餓、禍患要臨到他們身上，末了，他為惡人作了個總結──根本要枯乾，絕子絕孫，他真是會罵惡人。

比勒達厭惡惡人，但是對惡人的厭惡，也不能無限制的延伸，甚至罵到惡人的子孫，因為惡人也可能會悔改，變成義人，惡人的子孫也可能不是惡人。比勒達對於惡人遭受審判的邏輯也太過簡化，許多惡人的審判不在今世，而在未來。

The Way Church Is Meant to Be

2022-03-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 2:37-47.  Let’s go! 

Acts 2:37-41 (NIV)
37  When the people heard this, they were cut to the heart and said to Peter and the other apostles, “Brothers, what shall we do?”
38  Peter replied, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit.
39  The promise is for you and your children and for all who are far off–for all whom the Lord our God will call.”
40  With many other words he warned them; and he pleaded with them, “Save yourselves from this corrupt generation.”
41  Those who accepted his message were baptized, and about three thousand were added to their number that day.
 
On verses 37-41:  God uses Peter and his sermon to lead approximately 3,000 new believers to faith in Jesus and to get baptized that day, an incredible move of God.  What can we learn from this?  Here are a few lessons I learn:
 
1. When God’s Word is preached well, the end result is that the hearer  is “cut to the heart” (v37) – i.e. touched, impacted and convicted in a way that leads them to want to follow Jesus.  Speaking of cutting to the heart, that’s why Hebrews 4:12 describes the word of God as “living and active, sharper than any double edged sword, dividing soul and spirit, joints and marrow, judging the thoughts and attitudes of the heart.”  When God’s Word is preached well, the result is not just information but transformation. 

To Connect with Your Audience, You Need To…

2022-03-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs!

Today’s passage is Acts 2:29-36.  Let’s go! 

Acts 2:29-33 (NIV)
29  “Brothers, I can tell you confidently that the patriarch David died and was buried, and his tomb is here to this day.
30  But he was a prophet and knew that God had promised him on oath that he would place one of his descendants on his throne.
31  Seeing what was ahead, he spoke of the resurrection of the Christ, that he was not abandoned to the grave, nor did his body see decay.
32  God has raised this Jesus to life, and we are all witnesses of the fact.
33  Exalted to the right hand of God, he has received from the Father the promised Holy Spirit and has poured out what you now see and hear.

On verses 29-33:  Peter connects the Scripture passages he quoted before (Joel 2 and Psalm 16) with what his audience is seeing in front of them to deliver one coherent message:  that Jesus Christ, who lived, died, and rose again is now the one at the Father’s right hand pouring out the Holy Spirit on His church.
 
Acts 2:34-36 (NIV)
34  For David did not ascend to heaven, and yet he said, “‘The Lord said to my Lord: “Sit at my right hand
35  until I make your enemies a footstool for your feet.”‘
36  “Therefore let all Israel be assured of this: God has made this Jesus, whom you crucified, both Lord and Christ.”

義人要持守所行的道

2022-03-10 in , /by

〈約伯記〉17: 9  然而，義人要持守所行的道，手潔的人要力上加力。

閱讀經文：〈約伯記〉17章

人生有的時候會像約伯一樣，來到一個地步，感覺：“我的心靈消耗，我的日子滅盡，墳墓為我預備好了”。因為自己沒有力量，什麼都不能做，因而感到：“我的日子已經過了，我的謀算，我心所想望的，已經斷絕”。假如你也落在這樣的光景中，約伯的嘆息會成為你的安慰；若是你的光景比約伯更好，還能自主，享受人生，你也可以因而感謝，並且珍惜神給你的福氣。神為何讓約伯如此消沉的話也放到《聖經》裡呢？實在是要讓我們知道人的有限，並且學習珍惜自己的人生。

2015年法國接受了許多敘利亞難民，卻遭到ISIS的攻擊，因此很多國家都拒絕收敘利亞的難民，尤其是加拿大對於接收敘利亞難民的反對聲不斷。有一天在敬拜時，牧師以〈彼得前書〉三章8-18節來勉勵會眾：“不以惡報惡、以辱罵還辱罵，倒要祝福，因你們是為此蒙召，好叫你們承受福氣。也要離惡行善，尋求和睦，一心追趕。”假如我們因為懼怕而拒絕難民，就好像約伯臣服於撒旦的勢力之下；但是假如我們敢以善拒惡的話，那麼我們就凌駕於撒旦之上了。“不以惡報惡、以辱罵還辱罵”是一個基督徒的功課，主耶穌已經親身做了榜樣。當羅馬兵丁鞭打侮辱祂之後，又把祂釘上十字架，在那錐心的苦痛之中，祂卻禱告：“父啊，饒恕他們，因為他們做的，他們不曉得”。