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We Need Each Other

2021-08-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 12:12-27. Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 12:12-27 (NIV)
12  The body is a unit, though it is made up of many parts; and though all its parts are many, they form one body. So it is with Christ.
13  For we were all baptized by one Spirit into one body–whether Jews or Greeks, slave or free–and we were all given the one Spirit to drink.
14  Now the body is not made up of one part but of many.
15  If the foot should say, “Because I am not a hand, I do not belong to the body,” it would not for that reason cease to be part of the body…….

On verses 12-27:  No book in the world emphasizes teamwork more than the Bible, and no passage in the Bible emphasizes teamwork more than 1 Corinthians 12:12-27.  As Paul says to the Christians in Corinth, “you are the body of Christ, and each one of you is a part of it” (v27).

Don’t ever buy into the lie that you can be a healthy Christian without being connected to other Christians.  That’s like a hand expecting it can survive on its own without being connected to the rest of the body.  In the same way, if you were to say “I don’t need to go to church” or “My relationship with God is just a me and God thing so I don’t need anyone else”, eventually your life in Christ will shrivel up and become something much different and much less than God intended it to be.

暗嫩詐病汙她瑪

2021-08-19 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉下 13:22押沙龍並不和他哥哥暗嫩說好說歹。因為暗嫩玷辱他妹妹她瑪，所以押沙龍恨惡他。

閱讀經文：〈撒母耳記〉下 13:1-22

有的人覺得《聖經》裡記載這種哥哥強姦妹妹的亂倫之舉，實在很羞恥。其他宗教的書，哪會記載不倫之事？這就是《聖經》與其他經書不同之處，人寫的書都要高舉自己，隱藏自己的不義；但《聖經》卻反應出人類最真實的一面，讓人看到自己的本相，污穢的內心和罪的本性，以及神的公義和審判，容忍和慈愛。世人都追求愛，但是世人說的愛，往往只是情慾。慾火攻心時，卻誤以為那就是愛，以致於悲劇不斷地發生。

從暗嫩對她瑪的貪念，到他接受損友約拿達的建議，一點都不顧惜她瑪所作的舉動，我們可以明白，那只是一種人性的佔有慾，和愛完全無關。有的女性喜歡上一個男人時，也會想盡辦法，讓他背負上責任，以致於不得不和她結婚。這種異性之間的吸引原本是神賜給人極為美麗的禮物，但是當人只想到自己，而不為對方著想時，就變成害人的藉口。而世間極為可怕的武器，便是美其名為“愛”，其實只是貪念和自私的產品。

大衛身為父親，對兒女的認識卻甚為淺薄。王宮裡有那麼多宮女和僕人，豈需要一個公主去侍候她哥哥的飲食嗎？這不合常理的要求，大衛竟然答應了。她瑪毫無防備，被同父異母的哥哥欺負了。可怕的還在後頭，暗嫩親近了她瑪之後，竟把她趕出去了。這裡面有“愛”嗎？世人口中的“愛”是什麼？就是發生性關係，然後呢？沒有了。

Getting to Know the Holy Spirit

2021-08-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 12:1-11. Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 12:1-3 (NIV)
1  Now about spiritual gifts, brothers, I do not want you to be ignorant.
2  You know that when you were pagans, somehow or other you were influenced and led astray to mute idols.
3  Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.

On verses 1-3:  Have you ever seen people engaging in some spiritual activity and wondered if that activity is really from God or not?  In 1 Corinthians 12:1-3, Paul gives one good guideline in helping you discern whether a spiritual activity is from God or is demonic.  The question to ask is: as the people are engaging in this activity, what are they saying about Jesus Christ?  Are they exalting Jesus as Lord?  Or, are they cursing Jesus and/or outright dishonouring Him?  If they are exalting Jesus as Lord as they do this activity, if the fruit is that Jesus is glorified through this activity, this should suggest to you that God’s Spirit is involved in some way.  But if they are cursing Jesus or dishonouring Him as they do this activity, it suggests that this activity is not from the Holy Spirit.  As Paul writes in 1 Corinthians 12:3: “Therefore I tell you that no one who is speaking by the Spirit of God says, “Jesus be cursed,” and no one can say, “Jesus is Lord,” except by the Holy Spirit.”

In deciding what to think of any controversial matter, always bring it back to Jesus.  It’s all about Him in the end.

大衛的懺悔詩

2021-08-18 in , /by

〈詩篇〉 51:10 神啊，求祢為我造清潔的心，使我裡面重新有正直的靈。

閱讀經文：〈詩篇〉51

讀了大衛王犯罪，卻沒有讀〈詩篇〉51篇，在感覺上是不完整的。〈詩篇〉51篇是大衛被拿單指責後所做的懺悔詩。大衛王縱情於聲色之娛，以致犯罪了都沒有感覺。但是在先知拿單指責之後，有如醍醐灌頂，一下子醒悟過來，明白自己犯了大錯，得罪了神，立刻認罪。這就是大衛王和掃羅的不同。在撒母耳的指責下，掃羅不但不認錯，還繼續為自己辯護，以致於神棄絕他。但是大衛一點就明，並且立刻認罪，因此得到神的饒恕。很多人因為〈詩篇〉51篇而得到幫助，在犯錯之後，也用這詩篇作為自己的禱告。更有許多作曲家為這詩篇譜曲，讓我們可以有更深的感受。

大衛相信神是慈愛的神，因此求神的慈愛憐恤他，塗抹他的過犯。又求神洗除淨盡他的罪孽。因為他知道他犯罪了，並且他肯認罪。不肯承認自己有罪的人，就沒有辦法享受到赦罪之恩，只能像掃羅一樣，天天活在罪的腐蝕之中，被自己心靈的黑暗折磨到失去平安。惟有知罪認罪的人，才能得到神的赦罪之恩，脫離罪的重擔。

大罪不僅知道自己的過犯，並且他經常想到他所犯的罪。當我們犯罪時，第一個得罪的是神，其次才是人。表面上好像先得罪人，其實心裡起意時，已經得罪了神。因此當聖靈責備我們時，我們就就明白何為神的公義。在神的公義裡，不容許有任何污點。所以我們在神的面前，怎能自以為正？在聖靈的光照裡，大衛更看清他在母親懷胎時就有罪了。大衛是否感受到那自亞當和夏娃來的罪性呢？

這世界上除了神，沒有任何人或靈界的存在物有赦免的權柄和恩典。神要的不是表面的乾淨，而是內裡的誠實。只有神，可以潔淨我們的罪，洗滌我們，使我們比雪更白。在舊約裡的除罪儀式多使用牛膝草，現在我們知道那些舊約的儀式裡，所指向的、所喻表的，正是耶穌基督的寶血。因為〈希伯來書〉的作者說：“按著律法，凡物差不多都是用血潔淨的，若不流血，罪就不得赦免了。（來9:22）” 基督用自己的血，只一次進入聖所，成了永遠贖罪的事。（來9:12）。

Remembering Jesus’ Body

2021-08-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 11:17-34.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 11:17-22 (NIV)
17  In the following directives I have no praise for you, for your meetings do more harm than good.
18  In the first place, I hear that when you come together as a church, there are divisions among you, and to some extent I believe it.
19  No doubt there have to be differences among you to show which of you have God’s approval.
20  When you come together, it is not the Lord’s Supper you eat,
21  for as you eat, each of you goes ahead without waiting for anybody else. One remains hungry, another gets drunk.
22  Don’t you have homes to eat and drink in? Or do you despise the church of God and humiliate those who have nothing? What shall I say to you? Shall I praise you for this? Certainly not!

On verses 17-22:  Here Paul tackles the next problem he notices in his church in Corinth.  It’s that when people ate the Lord’s Supper (also known as communion), they would do it for the wrong reasons.  Instead of treating communion as a time to solemnly and thankfully remember Christ’s death on the cross, they treated it as an all you can eat food and drink fest.  Instead of waiting for one another and making sure that everyone had a chance to participate, some in the Corinthian church would rush to consume as much of the bread and wine as they could, leaving nothing left over for people who came after them (v21-22).

耶底底亞

2021-08-17 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉下 12:25 就藉先知拿單賜他一個名字，叫耶底底亞，因為耶和華愛他。

閱讀經文：〈撒母耳記〉下 12:1-31

假如是一個平常人犯罪，可能有朋友或家人會出來指責，可是大衛高高在上，又有約押幫他遮掩，又有誰知道他的陰謀？誰知道他使壞？神差遣先知拿單去見大衛。假如拿單直接對大衛說，他犯姦淫和謀殺，你想大衛王會有怎樣的反應？輕則把他趕出去，重則永遠不再見他的面，這樣就無法完成神給他的任務了。神給拿單什麼任務呢？就是讓大衛知罪。怎樣讓一個高高在上，有權勢的人知罪呢？不用一點小技巧是不行的。拿單講了一個富戶欺負窮人的故事給大衛聽。大衛聽得義怒填胸，立刻下了判語。這時拿單的話好像一根大鎚打下去：“你就是那人！”

神說：“一，我膏你做以色列的王；二，救你脫離掃羅的手；三，將你主人的家業賜給你，包括你主人的妻。主人若是指掃羅，主人的妻有可能就是掃羅的妻亞希暖了。四，若是不夠，神還可以加倍賜福，你何必做壞事來奪取呢？”這也是神對我們說的話，一樣兩樣三樣的祝福，若是不夠，再向神要。我們怎樣都不必用自己的手去強豪取，用神所不喜悅的手段為自己爭取利益。

神給大衛的刑罰極重，第一個刑罰是拿走他兒子的性命，第二個刑罰是極大的咒詛：刀劍必永不離開他的家。神要從大衛家中興起禍患攻擊大衛，必在大衛眼前把他的妃嬪賜給別人，他在日光之下就與她們同寢。這事應驗在大衛的三子押沙龍身上。神說：“你在暗中行這事，我卻要在以色列眾人面前，日光之下，報應你。”這句話是神一直在使用的審判，跟隨主的人若以為可以在暗中行不義，神必在眾人面前報應他。看看有多少牧師、神父、傳道人在暗中做了不義之事，都成了社會的頭條新聞。神不怕失面子，反而，祂要讓世人知道，祂必管教祂的兒女，不容許他們暗中行惡。好讓世人曉得耶和華神是個公義的神，與罪惡誓不兩立。

Dressing to Lead, Not to Distract

2021-08-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 11:1-16.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 11:1 (NIV)
1  Follow my example, as I follow the example of Christ.

On verse 1:  Paul tells his church in Corinth to follow his example as he follows the example of Christ.  That’s the direction we should all aim to walk in, that as we do our best to follow Christ’s example, may we give those in our care a good example for them to follow also.  For we all need people in our lives who can model for us what it looks like practically to follow Jesus Christ. Of course, no one gets it perfectly right, but that doesn’t mean you can’t learn something from others.  Take the good things you see from the lives of the leaders God has placed in your life and apply them to your own life.  Incarnation (Christ living in us) is often sparked by imitation, that is, we can become more like Jesus by seeing how others follow Jesus and by following their example.

1 Corinthians 11:2 (NIV)
2  I praise you for remembering me in everything and for holding to the teachings, just as I passed them on to you.

On verse 2:  Here Paul is likely responding to a letter from the church in Corinth in which the church has mentioned that they are trying to keep to Paul’s teachings.  Paul commends them for this, despite the fact that Paul sees a number of serious problems in the way the church had been behaving.

Using Your Freedom to Glorify God and to Bless Others

2021-08-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 10:23-33.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 10:23-24 (NIV)
23  “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is beneficial. “Everything is permissible”–but not everything is constructive.
24  Nobody should seek his own good, but the good of others.

On verses 23-24:  “Everything is permissible” may have been a common saying during Paul’s time.  The saying was possibly used by some in Paul’s church in Corinth as a licence for them to do whatever they want, claiming that as believers they were free to do anything.  Paul challenges this “everything is permissible” way of thinking by encouraging his Christian brothers and sisters to think and live on a higher level.  Instead of just focusing on what I am free to do, I should even more think about what impact my actions have (i.e. what benefit my actions bring to myself and others, what harm my actions do to myself and others).  Instead of just seeking my own good, I am to seek the good of others.  Christians are called to this higher, more unselfish, more productive level of living.  In the verses that follow, Paul will illustrate what that looks like when it comes to a hot issue during Paul’s time, which is eating food sacrificed to idols.

1 Corinthians 10:25-26 (NIV)
25  Eat anything sold in the meat market without raising questions of conscience,
26  for, “The earth is the Lord’s, and everything in it.”

大衛犯罪

2021-08-16 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉下 11:27b但大衛所行的這事，耶和華甚不喜悅。

閱讀經文：〈撒母耳記〉下 11:1-27

在〈歷代志〉上廿章，記載著約押再次打敗亞捫人，打下了他們的首都拉巴，奪了亞捫王的金冠冕，滅了他們各城的居民。回到耶路撒冷的大衛，真是志得意滿，意氣風發。此時的大衛，真是不可一世啊！以色列的國勢如日中天，各國都來稱臣；外面有幹將約押，裡面歌舞昇平，大衛開始享受人生，睡到自然醒，太陽竟已平西！保羅說：“因我什麼時候軟弱，什麼時候就剛強了”（林後12:10b）。在這裡，我們要轉過來看這句話：“因我什麼時候剛強，什麼時候就軟弱了”。此時正是大衛自覺最剛強的時候，卻也是他最軟弱的時候。

大衛在躲避掃羅時就已經左娶一個右娶一個，在希伯崙做猶大王時，已經有了七個妻子六個兒子；到了耶路撒冷更是后妃滿庭院，兒女滿天飛。情慾，是大衛人生中最大的弱點，因為他不知道何時要終止這樣的遊戲。他不知道這個弱點會帶給他人生最大的污點，也不知道這個弱點將會把他拖入何等的深淵，帶給他的家族何等的咒詛。大衛王以為性關係是一件很隨便的事，所以當他看上拔示巴之後，就一心一意想和她上床。至於上床後可能發生的事，他完全不去想。很自然地，拔示巴懷孕了。這時大衛要負責任嗎？沒有，他要拔示巴的丈夫烏利亞回來承擔這個責任。他只想要神不知鬼不覺地偷吃，可是天不從人願。

烏利亞是個盡忠職守的將士，當他想到約押和其他戰士們都在田野裡安營或住在棚裡，就不肯回家與妻子同寢。大衛試了兩次，想要灌醉他，使他失去理智，沒想到這個人如此忠心，寧可與大衛的僕人睡在宮門外，就是不肯回家。大衛想栽贓的計劃不成功，頓生殺機。一個有勇有謀如大衛的人，若要做壞事，那真是可怕。大衛寫了一封信，叫約押想辦法讓烏利亞戰死在前線，要讓烏利亞死得很自然，讓人看不出一點謀殺的跡象。大衛被情慾所矇敞，竟然為了遮蓋自己的罪過，而殺害一個對他忠心耿耿的將士。烏利亞帶著那封致己於非命的信回到戰場。

Overcoming Temptation with God’s Help

2021-08-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 10:1-13.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 10:1-13 (NIV)
1  For I do not want you to be ignorant of the fact, brothers, that our forefathers were all under the cloud and that they all passed through the sea.
2  They were all baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea.
3  They all ate the same spiritual food
4  and drank the same spiritual drink; for they drank from the spiritual rock that accompanied them, and that rock was Christ.
5  Nevertheless, God was not pleased with most of them; their bodies were scattered over the desert…….

On verses 1-11:  Here Paul recalls the time when the Israelites, under Moses’ leadership, were escaping Egypt and wandering in the desert on their way to the promised land.  Back then, the Israelites considered themselves to be God’s people and experienced incredible miracles from God.  They “were all under the cloud” (v1), meaning that God led those Israelites by a pillar of cloud (Exodus 13:21).  They “all passed through the sea” (v1), referring to how God amazingly led those Israelites through the Red Sea in Exodus 14:21-31.  Paul compares these experiences that the Israelites had with the pillar of cloud and the Red Sea to a baptism (v3).  They received special spiritual food (v3-4), which Paul attributes to Jesus Christ Himself, extrapolating that Jesus Christ Himself was with these Israelites during this time and was the source of the spiritual food and drank they consumed.