Entries by

Dealing with Criticism

2021-09-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 11:1-15.  Let’s go!

2 Corinthians 11:1-15 (NIV)
1  I hope you will put up with a little of my foolishness; but you are already doing that.
2  I am jealous for you with a godly jealousy. I promised you to one husband, to Christ, so that I might present you as a pure virgin to him.
3  But I am afraid that just as Eve was deceived by the serpent’s cunning, your minds may somehow be led astray from your sincere and pure devotion to Christ.
4  For if someone comes to you and preaches a Jesus other than the Jesus we preached, or if you receive a different spirit from the one you received, or a different gospel from the one you accepted, you put up with it easily enough.
5  But I do not think I am in the least inferior to those “super-apostles.”
6  I may not be a trained speaker, but I do have knowledge. We have made this perfectly clear to you in every way.
7  Was it a sin for me to lower myself in order to elevate you by preaching the gospel of God to you free of charge?
8  I robbed other churches by receiving support from them so as to serve you. ……

On verses 1-15:  Here in 2 Corinthians 11:1-15 we see Paul using some strong language to respond to several different attacks and criticisms people were making of him, such as:
– “you’re not a trained speaker, Paul” (v6)
– “you talk a lot of foolishness, Paul” (v1)
– “you can’t be a legit minister because you serve us for free as a volunteer, Paul” (v7-8)
– “your gospel is not as cool sounding as the gospel that the “super apostles” talk about, Paul” (v4)

Boast In Jesus, Not In Yourself

2021-09-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 10:7-18.  Let’s go!

2 Corinthians 10:7-14 (NIV)
7  You are looking only on the surface of things. If anyone is confident that he belongs to Christ, he should consider again that we belong to Christ just as much as he.
8  For even if I boast somewhat freely about the authority the Lord gave us for building you up rather than pulling you down, I will not be ashamed of it.
9  I do not want to seem to be trying to frighten you with my letters.
10  For some say, “His letters are weighty and forceful, but in person he is unimpressive and his speaking amounts to nothing.”
11  Such people should realize that what we are in our letters when we are absent, we will be in our actions when we are present.
12  We do not dare to classify or compare ourselves with some who commend themselves. When they measure themselves by themselves and compare themselves with themselves, they are not wise.
13  We, however, will not boast beyond proper limits, but will confine our boasting to the field God has assigned to us, a field that reaches even to you.
14  We are not going too far in our boasting, as would be the case if we had not come to you, for we did get as far as you with the gospel of Christ.

On verses 7-14:  One criticism being thrown at Paul was that Paul had been boasting excessively about his authority in the church.  This criticism was probably coming from the “super apostles”, a group that featured speakers who were more eloquent than Paul but who did not have the authority that Paul had as founding pastor of the church.   Paul tells his church, “Stop judging by mere appearances and enough with these silly comparisons.” (v7)  

亞多尼雅被殺

2021-09-23 in , /by

〈列王紀〉上 2:12 所羅門坐他父親大衛的位，他的國甚是堅固。

閱讀經文：〈列王紀 〉上 2:1-15

有古話說：“人之將死，其言也善”，我覺得把它改成“其言也真”更合適。從大衛對所羅門的交代裡，我們發現他的心裡對某些事難以忘懷，而且他要所羅門為他執行。大衛要所羅門做的事不算善，也不是不善，只是要兩條人命，因為那些人曾經做過一些不該做的事，他們必須為自己做過的事付出代價。當然，你可能會說，主耶穌不是教我們要饒恕，申冤在祂，祂必負責嗎？為何大衛不能饒恕這些得罪過他的人呢？

大衛沒有在他們犯罪時就懲罰他們，並不表示他們可以逃過罪的審判。我覺得這和神的審判有點類似，神沒有在我們犯罪時就一棒打下來，敲碎我們的腦袋，祂給我們時間去悔改。我們若固執不肯悔改，有一天罪會追上我們，不僅要嚐到犯罪的苦果，更要面對神的審判。所以還在罪中洋洋得意的人要很小心，因為犯罪的後果和審判都不是容易受的。所以，我們要明白，審判不是不到，只是時機未到；一旦時機到了，審判也隨之來到。所以千萬不要以為人有逃過罪責的可能，我們應當存對神的敬畏，時時保守自己的心懷意念。

有哪幾件事讓大衛耿耿於懷呢？第一，是約押在太平時期殺了兩個元帥的事情。一是押尼珥，二是亞瑪撒。這兩個人都是掃羅家那邊的勇士，接受了大衛的任命後，就被約押殺了。在戰爭時殺人是不得已的，但是在太平時期殺人，便是謀殺。大衛沒有在他的任上解決此事，因為他和約押的關係太親密了。從大衛逃亡開始，他就緊緊跟隨大衛，不計生死地幫助大衛。要大衛親手處決約押，對大衛來講應是一件非常困難的事，因為約押對大衛實在是非常地死忠。因此即使他犯下這兩件謀殺大罪，大衛也只能口頭咒詛，不敢有實際的懲罰。但是大衛知道約押必須為他的罪行負責，免得他的罪行變成大衛的罪行。因為大衛是約押的領袖，部下有罪不罰，罪當然就由領袖承擔。就好像一艘船或飛機出事，不管是誰的錯，船長或機長都必須出面負責。因此，約押不能不死。他偏偏又在亞多尼雅一事上站錯邊，又多了一條罪名。

Meekness Is Not Weakness

2021-09-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 10:1-6.  Let’s go!

2 Corinthians 10:1-6 (NIV)
1  By the meekness and gentleness of Christ, I appeal to you–I, Paul, who am “timid” when face to face with you, but “bold” when away!
2  I beg you that when I come I may not have to be as bold as I expect to be toward some people who think that we live by the standards of this world.
3  For though we live in the world, we do not wage war as the world does.
4  The weapons we fight with are not the weapons of the world. On the contrary, they have divine power to demolish strongholds.
5  We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ.
6  And we will be ready to punish every act of disobedience, once your obedience is complete.

On verses 1-6:  In 2 Corinthians 10:1-6 Paul addresses a criticism that some people were making of him: that he is so bold and forceful when he writes letters from a distance, but when he is face to face with the people he is “timid” (v1).  Perhaps it’s because these critics were comparing Paul to other religious leaders who called themselves “super apostles”, who carried themselves in front of the Corinthian church in a more impressive way, and who spoke negatively about Paul.

所羅門作王

2021-09-22 in , /by

〈列王紀〉上 1:52 所羅門說：「他若做忠義的人，連一根頭髮也不至落在地上；他若行惡，必要死亡。」

閱讀經文：〈列王紀 〉上 1:28-53

這是一個不可避免的宮庭鬥爭，大家都為了自己的前途在拚命。因為都知道，假如自己做不了王，性命堪虞，這就是宮庭鬥爭的可怕。勝者為王，敗者為寇。大衛王雖然年記老邁，卻依然思想清楚，沒有老年癡呆的症狀。他立刻向拔示巴保證，他應許過所羅門要做王一事，依然有效，而且必然成為真實：“我今日就必照這話而行”。大衛也立刻明白兩邊的情況，因此召來亞多尼雅沒有邀請的幾個人：祭司撒都、先知拿單和比拿雅，要讓他們幾位帶領所羅門，騎上大衛的騾子到基訓泉，膏他做以色列的王。

可能因為不在戰爭時期，所以大衛出入不用馬而用騾子。騾子是一種動物，有雌雄之分，但是沒有生育的能力。牠是馬和驢交配產下的後代，分爲驢騾和馬騾。公驢和母馬交配，生下的叫“馬騾mule”；公馬和母驢交配，生下的叫“驢騾hinny”。馬騾個大，具有驢的負重能力和抵抗能力，又有馬的靈活性和奔跑能力，是非常好的役畜（摘自中文百科）。大衛的騾子是馬騾Mule，馬騾耐性好，又聰明善體人意，需要的飼料也比馬少，是平常可以代步的好牲畜。約瑟當年戴上法老的戒指，坐著法老的副車出門，象徵他是法老的代表；所羅門騎上了大衛王的騾子，眾人一看就明白，他就是繼承王位的人。

在古代，基訓泉和隱羅結水泉是大衛城兩個主要的水泉，兩泉之間只相距約七百米。據說當年大衛攻下耶布斯城（後來的耶路撒冷），就是約押從基訓泉的隧道進去，裡外夾攻，才克敵制勝。既然亞多尼雅去了隱羅結的水泉，所以大衛就讓所羅門去了基訓的水泉，在那裡讓祭司撒都和先知拿單膏他做以色列的王，然後叫人吹角，並且呼喊：“願所羅門王萬歲！”大衛的計劃十分完善，雖然是小小的儀式，卻發揮了大大的作用。眾民的歡呼聲衝破雲霄，直達到亞多尼雅的耳中。

Your Reputation Depends on How You Handle Other People’s Money

2021-09-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 8:16-24.  Let’s go!

2 Corinthians 8:16-24 (NIV) 
16  I thank God, who put into the heart of Titus the same concern I have for you. 
17  For Titus not only welcomed our appeal, but he is coming to you with much enthusiasm and on his own initiative. 
18  And we are sending along with him the brother who is praised by all the churches for his service to the gospel. 
19  What is more, he was chosen by the churches to accompany us as we carry the offering, which we administer in order to honor the Lord himself and to show our eagerness to help. 
20  We want to avoid any criticism of the way we administer this liberal gift. 
21  For we are taking pains to do what is right, not only in the eyes of the Lord but also in the eyes of men. 
22  In addition, we are sending with them our brother who has often proved to us in many ways that he is zealous, and now even more so because of his great confidence in you. 
23  As for Titus, he is my partner and fellow worker among you; as for our brothers, they are representatives of the churches and an honor to Christ. 
24  Therefore show these men the proof of your love and the reason for our pride in you, so that the churches can see it. 

On verses 16-24:  In making preparations to collect the offering from his church in Corinth, Paul goes out of his way to tell his church in Corinth that he and his team are taking great pains to make sure that the funds given by his church are being handled carefully and without any hint of mismanagement.  In particular Paul focuses on the trustworthiness of the individuals who have been appointed to go to the church in Corinth to receive their offering and from there to deliver the offering to its intended destination.  Those individuals include Titus, whom Paul praises at length (v16-17) as well as two other individuals whose names are not stated but who are apparently highly reputable church representatives (v18-19a and v23).  

亞多尼雅想做王

2021-09-21 in , /by

〈列王紀〉上 1:18 現在亞多尼雅做王了，我主我王卻不知道。

閱讀經文：〈列王紀 〉上 1:1-27

當大衛年老時，就像所有的人年老一樣，因為血液循環不好，越來越怕冷，蓋了極多的被子還是不夠暖。他的僕從們就想到要找人用體溫去為他取暖。我們看電視或電影時，偶而也會有類似的情節，當一個人在水裡浸得太久，或在雪裡被埋了，救他的人在沒有任何設備的情況下，往往就把衣服脫了，跟昏迷的人抱在一起，用自己的體溫去使那昏迷的人得到溫暖，而能存活下來。大衛不需要這樣的急救，只是因為常常覺得很冷，所以僕從們就想到一個這樣的方法。可能因為大衛的妻妾都年記大了，無法給大衛足夠的溫暖，所以他們要特意去找一個處女和大衛睡覺。但是我們看到大衛王和以前不一樣了，一來可能是因為年記大了，二來也有可能經過拔示巴一事之後，被神懲罰，因此在這方面十分警戒小心，以致不願意再親近亞比煞。

亞比煞雖然只是個伺候王的童女，但是因為一直在大衛身邊，所以宮庭裡的機密，她知道的還不少。例如拔示巴去找大衛為所羅門說項的事。大衛年記大了，宮庭裡的有心之人都開始為自己籌謀，免得大衛一駕崩，他們就沒有靠山。這就是倚靠人的實情，尤其在權力鬥爭時，要選擇站哪一邊便是一個很重要的決定。就好像現在很多搞政治的人，他們選擇去擁護同性戀、贊成墮胎、大麻合法化，等等不合神心意的事，因為他們以為選票是在人的手中，所以他們要去討好那些贊成做那些事的人。他們選擇離棄神，去投靠人。

我們也看到繼押沙龍之後，大衛的四子亞多尼雅，也開始展露野心。他說：“我必做王”。亞多尼雅前面的三個哥哥都消失了，在他的心中，他應該就是繼承王位的人。可是從各樣的蛛絲馬跡來看，似乎所羅門的呼聲比他更高，於是他決定趁著大衛不知道時，放手一搏，來個霸王硬上弓，造成時勢，使大衛不得不承認他的王權，也不能立所羅門為王。大衛平時雖然知道亞多尼雅喜歡為自己造勢，自尊自大，可是大衛從來不過問，也不阻止他。大衛的放縱可能使亞多尼雅誤以為大衛默認了他的作法。

Give and Think Outside the Bubble

2021-09-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 8:1-15.  Let’s go

2 Corinthians 8:1-6 (NIV)
1  And now, brothers, we want you to know about the grace that God has given the Macedonian churches.
2  Out of the most severe trial, their overflowing joy and their extreme poverty welled up in rich generosity.
3  For I testify that they gave as much as they were able, and even beyond their ability. Entirely on their own,
4  they urgently pleaded with us for the privilege of sharing in this service to the saints.
5  And they did not do as we expected, but they gave themselves first to the Lord and then to us in keeping with God’s will.
6  So we urged Titus, since he had earlier made a beginning, to bring also to completion this act of grace on your part.

On verses 1-6:  Paul encourages his church in Corinth to learn from the example of the churches he helped to start in the northern region of Macedonia.  How about you?  Are you willing to learn from others?  Part of following Jesus is being willing to change and learn from the example of others, especially from more mature followers of Jesus.

2 Corinthians 8:7 (NIV) 
7 But just as you excel in everything–in faith, in speech, in knowledge, in complete earnestness and in your love for us–see that you also excel in this grace of giving.      

有誰樂意將自己獻給耶和華

2021-09-20 in , /by

〈歷代志〉上 29:5b  今日有誰樂意將自己獻給耶和華呢？

閱讀經文：〈歷代志 〉上 29章

這一年來因為疫情的關係，溫哥華的教堂大都關閉了。有不少教堂就利用這段期間好好地整修一番。當然，整修教堂需要的費用不小，因此也很需要會眾在經濟上的支持。當我們看到大衛為聖殿預備，籌備基金和各樣需要的材料時，便明白這不是大衛一個人的工作，他也需要全國人民共襄盛舉。神的工作從來不是個人秀，而是神的兒女們共同的責任和義務。

大衛說：“因我心中愛慕我神的殿，就在預備建造聖殿的材料之外，又將我自己積蓄的金銀獻上，建造我神的殿，就是俄斐金三千他連得，精煉的銀子七千他連得，以貼殿牆，金子做金器，銀子做銀器，並藉匠人的手製造一切。”接著他丟出一句令人激動的呼召： “今日有誰樂意將自己獻給耶和華呢？”大衛先做楷模，獻金獻銀以貼殿牆，只因為他對神的愛，所以他可以毫無保留。愛有多少，就會付出多少。在2015年6月26日，ISIS恐怖份子突襲突尼斯的度假勝地蘇斯Sousse，受傷的大多是遊客。其中有一對英國情侶，當ISIS開始掃射時，那個男的衝到女的面前，用身體擋住子彈，並叫未婚妻快逃。他自己中了至少三顆子彈。他的未婚妻事後很傷心地去尋找他的屍體，沒想到他竟然被救活了，正在醫院裡接受抬療。愛到一個地步，可以為她死。唯有愛，可以使人無怨無悔地付出。

大衛王沒有呼召會眾為神死，只是呼召奉獻建聖殿，會眾被大衛對神的愛感染，也都樂意獻上。大衛知道憑他個人的力量無法完成這個巨大的工程，神的殿需要百姓的參與，有參與才有關注。我們都需要有這樣的認識，知道一己的力量是很有限的，我們都需要同工。當會眾獻上金子五千他連得零一萬達利克，銀子一萬他連得，銅一萬八千他連得，鐵十萬他連得，還有寶石時，大衛王的心何等喜樂。因為不是勉強來的，而是大家誠心樂意獻給神，因此百姓和大衛都大大歡喜。這就是在基督裡的奇妙之處，把錢拿出去，自己擁有的就減少了，但是心裡反而非常喜樂。這就是和世人的加減乘除不同的地方，世人是拿出去就減少了，就憂愁了；信神的人拿出去，神給的祝福卻反而使我們感到更多更喜樂。

大衛示所羅門聖殿模型

2021-09-19 in , /by

〈歷代志〉上 28: 19 大衛說：「這一切工作的樣式，都是耶和華用手劃出來使我明白的。」

閱讀經文：〈歷代志 〉上 28章

相信在大家讀了〈歷代志〉上這幾章之後，對大衛王會有一個比較全面的理解，不會只記得他殺了歌利亞和犯罪兩件事，也能看到他在位時，為以色列付出的勞苦和心血。在這一章裡，大衛王顯示了兩件極重要的事，一是所羅門做王是出於神的揀選，二聖殿的設計是出自於神，神親自繪出聖殿的藍圖給大衛，好讓所羅門按著神的設計去建殿。

大衛說：“我心裡本想建造殿宇，安放耶和華的約櫃，作為我神的腳凳”，這意思是指約櫃本是個黃金包木的箱子，箱子上面有兩個有翼基路伯天使作為裝飾，基路伯的中間就是神施恩的寶座，所以約櫃也可以算是神的腳凳。大衛對約櫃的作用非常清楚，不像有的以色列人把它當作神同在的依據，好像拜偶像一樣，以它為護身符。大衛非常明白，守護人的是神，而不是約櫃。

大衛召集所有王室行政人員，向他們說明神對他和所羅門的揀選，以及為何他不能建殿的原因。大衛的開誠佈公使服侍他的人知道怎樣去配合他要做的事，我想這是做一個領袖的高明之處。一個為首之人必須和與他同工的人有良好的溝通，才能彼此信任，相互理解，避免不必要的誤會。以色列雖然有王了，但還是一個神權統治的國家，對他們而言，神的揀選是一個必要的條件：“你總要立耶和華你神所揀選的人為王。（申17:15）”大衛也在此強調：“耶和華以色列的神在我父的全家揀選我做以色列的王，直到永遠。”