Entries by

Thirsty for Mercy

2026-05-11 in /by

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

Because Jesus has forgiven us, we can forgive others. Because he lives in us, you and I can do the same. Oh, I could never do that, you object. The hurt is so deep. Just seeing the person makes me cringe. Perhaps that’s the problem: you’re seeing too much of the wrong person. Try shifting your glance away from the one who hurt you and setting your eyes on the One who has saved you.

Please understand. Relationships don’t thrive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful. Are there any relationships in your world thirsty for mercy? Is there anyone who needs to be assured of your grace? Jesus made sure his disciples had no reason to doubt his love. Why don’t you do the same?

A Passionate Moment

2026-05-11 in /by

Few situations stir panic like being trapped in a relationship. Some opt to flee, to get out of the relationship. Others fight, and tension becomes a way of life. A few, however, discover another treatment: forgiveness.

In Jesus’ day the task of washing feet was reserved for the lowest of the servants. But in the thirteenth chapter of John, the one with the basin and towel is the king of the universe. What a passionate moment when Jesus silently washes the feet of all the disciples…even Judas. Jesus knows that, by morning, these men will bury their heads in shame. Remarkable. He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it.

贖罪日 Yom Kippur

2026-05-10 in , /by

利未記 16:6-10亞倫要把贖罪祭的公牛奉上，為自己和本家贖罪；也要把兩隻公山羊安置在會幕門口、耶和華面前，為那兩隻羊拈鬮，一鬮歸與耶和華，一鬮歸與阿撒瀉勒。亞倫要把那拈鬮歸與耶和華的羊獻為贖罪祭，但那拈鬮歸與阿撒瀉勒的羊要活著安置在耶和華面前，用以贖罪，打發人送到曠野去，歸與阿撒瀉勒。

根據猶太傳統：起初，上帝創造天地 (創1:1) 。創造的第一天是在希伯來提敘黎月（猶太曆七月）的第一天。猶太新年(Rosh Hashanah) 字面上的意思是「年頭」，今年(2020年)落在陽曆9月18日。當天黃昏，便進入了猶太曆5781年。猶太曆不是從亞伯拉罕被揀選、摩西被呼召或大衛王朝的時候開始，而是在宇宙被造時開始的，因為《聖經》是萬物的歷史。

對於猶太人，神在《聖經》裡有很明確的指示，新年代表審判，因此要自我內省、禱告和悔改。新年也是莊嚴的節期，用來進行個人靈命反省和思考人類未來的方向，這節日是「敬畏的日子」(Days of Awe)，用來檢視自己的生活並重新將自己歸向神，與神和好。

患漏症的處理

2026-05-08 in , /by

利未記15章11節   患漏症的人沒有用水涮手，無論摸了誰，誰必不潔淨到晚上，並要洗衣服，用水洗澡。

可能有的人看到這章經文的主題會覺得很不自在，怎麼在這樣神聖的一本書裡，會出現這樣的主題呢？這種事情不是都隱秘不宣的嗎？但是當我們再讀下去時，就會發現原來只有造人的神才知道人的每一層需要；也相對地發現，耶穌所講的：「從人裡面出來的，那才能污穢人。」這句話何等真實。原來人的裡面是那樣地藏污納垢，從亞倫的兩個兒子取凡火獻祭，到人長大痲瘋，以及屋子長大痲瘋如何潔淨，讓我們充份體會到人的本質是何等地骯髒悖逆。也讓我們明白，原來罪的本質，非用血不能得以潔淨。

英文比較能表達這一章所要說的，有關人身體產生的分泌物discharge，一旦到了體外便是不潔，需要注意如何去潔淨，以免細菌到處感染，使人生病。因為分泌物包括的不只是男女性器官流出的東西，分泌物也包括口裡吐出的痰，鼻子出來的鼻涕，等等。只要我們思想一下，便會承認凡是從肉體裡出來的東西，都是不潔的。以前有些老祖母把食物在嘴裡嚼爛了，再放到嬰兒或小孩嘴裡，雖是一番好意，但是給現代母親看到，一定會大叫，「不要這樣，太髒了。」為什麼口水在自己嘴裡不覺得髒，一旦到了嘴巴外面就變髒了？

What We Can Become

2026-05-07 in /by

Jesus is pure; we are greedy. He is peaceful; we are hassled. He is spiritual; we are earthbound. The distance between our hearts and his seems so immense. How could we ever hope to have the heart of Jesus?

Ready for a surprise? You already do. If you have given your life to Jesus, Jesus has given himself to you. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:16 (TLB), “Strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ.”

God has ambitious plans for us. The same one who saved your soul longs to remake your heart. Let’s imagine what it means to be just like Jesus. Let’s look long into the heart of Christ. Perhaps in seeing him, we will see what we can become.

染疾之宅得潔淨

2026-05-07 in , /by

利未記 14: 34 -36    你們到了我賜給你們為業的迦南地，我若使你們所得為業之地的房屋中有大痲瘋的災病，房主就要去告訴祭司說：『據我看，房屋中似乎有災病。』祭司還沒有進去察看災病以前，就要吩咐人把房子騰空，免得房子裡所有的都成了不潔淨；然後祭司要進去察看房子。

這一段經文是神給以色列人的預備，讓他們知道進了迦南地之後，若是碰到屋子有問題時，應該如何處理。因為以色列人在曠野住帳蓬，到迦南地居住的情況就會不一樣。因為在曠野裡經常有太陽在晒，帳蓬裡十分乾燥，而且經常移動，比較不會有發黴的問題；但是屋子不一樣，屋子住久了就會有問題，因為屋子是不移動的，例如浴室或衛生間若是一直很潮濕，牆壁和天花板縫隙便會逐漸產生黴菌，影響到居住者的健康。有人說，黴菌和潮濕的牆壁是孿生兄弟，因此神把處理房子的一些問題事先教導他們，免得他們的健康受影響。

但是神既然帶領以色列人進迦南，又應允他們所得為業之地房屋，為何會領他們到發霉的屋子裡去住呢？在〈申命記〉六章10-11節，摩西說：「耶和華你的神領你進祂向你列祖亞伯拉罕、以撒、雅各起誓應許給你的地，那裡有城邑，又大又美，非你所建造的；有房屋，裝滿各樣美物，非你所裝滿的；有鑿成的水井，非你所鑿成的；還有葡萄園、橄欖園，非你所栽種的，你吃了，而且飽足。」就像以色列人出埃及時，神讓埃及人因為懼怕，而把所有的美物都給了以色列人；神也應許，不僅把迦南地賜給以色列人，就連迦南人的房屋和美物也都要賜給以色列人。

The Heart of Jesus

2026-05-06 in /by

The heart of Jesus was pure. Peter traveled with Jesus for three and a half years, and he described Jesus as a “lamb, unblemished and spotless” (1 Peter 1:19). The heart of Jesus was peaceful. The disciples shouted for fear in the storm, but Jesus slept through it. Peter drew his sword to fight the soldiers, but Jesus lifted his hand to heal.

The heart of Jesus was purposeful. He aimed at one goal—to save humanity from its sin. “The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). His heart was spiritual. He took his instructions from God. It was his habit to go to worship. He memorized scripture. His times of prayer guided him. John 5:19 says, “The Son does whatever the Father does.” The heart of Jesus was spiritual. Let ours be the same.

長大痲瘋得潔淨的日子

2026-05-06 in , /by

利未記14章8-9節     求潔淨的人當洗衣服，剃去毛髮，用水洗澡，就潔淨了；然後可以進營，只是要在自己的帳棚外居住七天。第七天，再把頭上所有的頭髮與鬍鬚、眉毛，並全身的毛，都剃了；又要洗衣服，用水洗身，就潔淨了。

《聖經》裡的大痲瘋包括了不同種類的皮膚病，因此當我們讀到「長大痲瘋得潔淨的日子」時，就明白有的皮膚病會因為自身抵抗力或免疫力的增強而痊癒；但是真正的大痲瘋（韓森氏病Hansen’s Disease）因為是由痲風桿菌引起，則必須接受藥物治療才會痊癒。根據維基百科，目前確診痳瘋病在吃藥的一周內就有99%的病菌能被消除，並切斷傳染性，持續吃藥兩年，病情能基本治癒。那麼在沒有藥物治療，又沒有神蹟的情況下，患者怎麼能夠得到潔淨呢？

一般的疾病得到醫治後，我們稱之為痊癒。但是長大痲瘋的人被稱為不潔，若有人不小心與之接觸到，那人也會變為不潔，需要隔離觀察一段時間，確定沒有被感染。因此若有長大痲瘋（會傳染的皮膚病）的人痊癒，《聖經》稱之為潔淨了，就需要讓祭司檢查，才能回到社區生活。

不潔淨了, 不潔淨了!

2026-05-05 in , /by

利未記 13:9  人有了大痲瘋的災病，就要將他帶到祭司面前。

當祭司很不容易，除了要學習怎樣維持聖所的供奉，獻祭時宰牛宰羊，還要學習診斷大痲瘋，真是十八般武藝樣樣都要會。但是醫學上的大痲瘋和《聖經》裡講的大痲瘋不大一樣，醫學上的大痲瘋是「韓生氏病Hansen’s Disease」，由癩桿菌（又稱痲瘋桿菌）所引起，主要侵犯人體的皮膚、粘膜以及周圍末梢神經，有時也侵犯人體器官，若不治療會造成知覺麻木，最後喪失肌肉控制力和手腳殘障。但是癩桿菌一遇到空氣極易死亡，到目前尚無法在實驗室培養，且95%的人都有自然的免疫力，因此並不像人們傳言的那麼恐怖。

《聖經》裡所講的大痲瘋，包括了許多種皮膚病，例如癬、癤和白斑；就如中國的傳統醫書也把癘、癩、大風、痲瘋、天刑等，都稱為癩病（即痲瘋病）。醫學上的大痲瘋雖不易傳染，但有很多種皮膚病都會傳染。古代沒有什麼公共衛生的知識，若不把會傳染的皮膚病加以隔離，那必然很難控制疾病的蔓延。因此皮膚若有異樣，隔離一段時間，加以觀察，再確定是否留在社群中或予以隔離，不但可以保護健康的百姓，也可以保護有病的患者，讓他們有足夠的時間和空間去療養和康復。神定的「七天」，正是大部份病毒或病菌發展的時間，也是看看患者是否能自己產生抵抗力而自行痊癒的一段時間。

Jesus Wants to Change Your Heart

2026-05-05 in /by

The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God’s love. He loves you right where you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. And so he cleanses us of filth: immorality, dishonesty, prejudice, bitterness, greed. He wants us to be just like Jesus. Isn’t that good news? You aren’t stuck with today’s personality. You are tweakable!

Where did we get the idea we cannot change? Why do we say things such as, “It’s my nature to worry,” or “I’ll always be pessimistic; I’m just that way,” or, “I have a bad temper; I can’t help the way I react.” Who says? If our bodies malfunction, we seek help. Shouldn’t we do the same for our hearts? Can’t we seek aid for our sour attitudes? Of course we can! Jesus wants to change our hearts. Can you imagine a better offer?