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大衛受膏做猶大王

2021-08-02 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉下 2:4  猶大人來到希伯崙，在那裡膏大衛做猶大家的王。

閱讀經文: 〈撒母耳記〉下 2:1-32

大衛的逃亡生涯結束了，他的第一件事是求問神：“我上猶大的一個城去可以嗎？”掃羅死了，以色列地有什麼地方大衛不能去的嗎？大衛哪裡都可以去，但是他覺得自己是屬神的人，是神所膏的王，所以他必須聽從神的命令。這是何等的順服！然後他再求問神要上哪一個城去？神指示他上希伯崙，所以他就帶著妻子和跟隨他的人都帶到希伯崙。

當大衛到了希伯崙之後，我們就看見他以前所送的禮，所結交的朋友，現在都“發酵”了。猶大人來到希伯崙，在那裡膏大衛作王。大衛知道“建立關係”的重要性，所以他聽到基伊拉的城受困，他就去救基伊拉；在曠野時，他就幫助放羊的，免得他們被擄掠；他打勝仗得了掠物，就拿去送猶大的長老們。在逃亡的生涯中，大衛沒有因而自暴自棄，反而在每一個關鍵時刻去幫助別人，與人建立良好的關係。如此，當他住進希伯崙時，猶大人就承認了撒母耳曾經膏大衛做王這件事，同心接受大衛做他們的王。大衛一生中三次被膏為王，這是第二次，第三次是被膏為全以色列的王。

此時以色列大半的國土都已失去，約旦河以西只剩下一些猶大支派的地，例如希伯崙。掃羅的元帥押尼珥帶著殘兵敗將，和掃羅所剩的唯一兒子伊施波設，逃到了約旦河東的瑪哈念，立伊施波設為王。押尼珥難道不知道神已經藉著撒母耳膏大衛為王嗎？可是一旦伊施波設不做王，那麼他也當不成元帥。為了保住他自己的權勢，押尼珥必須立伊施波設為王。事實上，此時真正發號施令的是押尼珥，不是伊施波設，後者只是個傀儡。

Don’t Be A People Worshipper

2021-08-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 3:1-9.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 3:1-9 (NIV)
1  Brothers, I could not address you as spiritual but as worldly–mere infants in Christ.
2  I gave you milk, not solid food, for you were not yet ready for it. Indeed, you are still not ready.
3  You are still worldly. For since there is jealousy and quarreling among you, are you not worldly? Are you not acting like mere men?
4  For when one says, “I follow Paul,” and another, “I follow Apollos,” are you not mere men?
5  What, after all, is Apollos? And what is Paul? Only servants, through whom you came to believe–as the Lord has assigned to each his task.
6  I planted the seed, Apollos watered it, but God made it grow.
7  So neither he who plants nor he who waters is anything, but only God, who makes things grow.
8  The man who plants and the man who waters have one purpose, and each will be rewarded according to his own labor.
9  For we are God’s fellow workers; you are God’s field, God’s building.

大衛寫〈弓歌〉

2021-08-01 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉下 1:25 英雄何竟在陣上仆倒，約拿單何竟在山上被殺！

閱讀經文：   〈撒母耳記〉下 1:1-27

就在大衛去追亞瑪力人，奪回自己和眾人的妻兒、財物和牲畜之際，也正是掃羅帶領以色列人和非利士人大戰之時，掃羅和約拿單都死了，以色列人大敗。大衛和跟隨他的人正在慶幸找回了家人和財物，而大衛可能會想起，非利士人和以色列人的戰爭不知進行得如何了？那時沒有電視，也沒有伊妹兒(email)或愛鳳(iphone)，消息傳得相當慢。到了第三天，才有人來討賞。

那是一個住在以色列人中的亞瑪力人，可能是作為僱佣兵而參戰的。他把掃羅臨死的情形告訴大衛，並取來掃羅頭上的冠冕、臂上的鐲子以作證據。他可能知道大衛已被膏為王，也知道掃羅追殺大衛的事，因為掃羅帶兵公開去追殺大衛；所以他認為大衛知道掃羅被殺一定很高興，因為大衛的仇敵死了，大衛就可以作王了。因此他覺得自己一定可以領到不少獎賞。但是出乎他意料之外，大衛不但不感激他，把他訓了一頓，還叫人把他殺了。

這就是大衛。可能有人覺得他矯情，掃羅死了，他豈有不高興的道理？他不是終於不必東躲西逃了嗎？但是大衛的過人之處就在於他敬畏神，所以他一直很尊重掃羅。他在弔掃羅和約拿單所寫的哀歌裡，把他對掃羅的尊重和對約拿單表露無遺。掃羅其實充滿嫉恨殘酷，但是大衛不理私人恩怨，只看掃羅在國中所做的。他稱掃羅為尊榮者、大英雄。掃羅起初的作為的確是以色列的尊榮者、大英雄。大衛記得掃羅為以色列人做過的好事。

認識神的聲音

2021-07-30 in , /by

你知道撒但的詭計，竭盡所能在我們身上所要做的事嗎？〈約翰福音〉10:10提到，盜賊來，無非要偷竊、殺害、毀壞。撒但要來進行毀壞，其先蒙蔽我們的一大戰略，就是使我們以為根本沒有撒但或魔鬼，這樣他們就能輕易進入我們的心，甚至佔領。識破撒但詭計的第一步，便是要知道如何辨識心裡的聲音是出於神，還是來自撒但的耳邊細語…

撒但進行毀壞的第一步－攻佔你的心

《聖經》一再提醒我們，無論是信者或未信者，所面臨最大的爭戰，是發生在我們內心的這片「戰場」，這是撒但一心想攻占的領地。我們自己的對手不是你我，而是管轄幽暗世界的「他們」，以弗所書6:12：因我們並不是與屬血氣的爭戰，乃是與那些執政的、掌權的、管轄這幽暗世界的，以及天空屬靈氣的惡魔爭戰。

撒但的最大伎倆，就是使人類不相信有他以及魔鬼們的存在，只要我們否認他們的存在，我們就不會去和他們爭戰。若我們毫無防備，魔鬼們便能輕而易舉入侵，使我們無法過得勝的生活。

所以，首先我們必須要能識出撒但的聲音與謊言。從《聖經》中我們清楚看到撒但如何左右我們內心的對話，並影響人的行為（馬太福音4:1-10，使徒行傳5:3，帖撒羅尼迦前書 2:18）。

神在我們生命中有一個超乎我們所能想像的計畫，祂的目的一定是為你好，但是感覺不一定總是良好，然而，撒旦的邪惡計畫也不會讓你一直感覺很糟糕－這就是撒但的偽裝與謊言，我們務必小心謹慎。

曾於《加拿大福音派自由教會》牧會多年，現任ACTS神學院執行主任的蓋依‧薩德福博士（Dr. Guy Saffold）透過這篇文章，指導我們如何辨識神的聲音和撒但的謊言。

The Holy Spirit – Revealer of God’s Thoughts to You

2021-07-30 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 2:10-16.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 2:10-16 (NIV)
10  but God has revealed it to us by his Spirit. The Spirit searches all things, even the deep things of God.
11  For who among men knows the thoughts of a man except the man’s spirit within him? In the same way no one knows the thoughts of God except the Spirit of God.
12  We have not received the spirit of the world but the Spirit who is from God, that we may understand what God has freely given us.
13  This is what we speak, not in words taught us by human wisdom but in words taught by the Spirit, expressing spiritual truths in spiritual words.
14  The man without the Spirit does not accept the things that come from the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him, and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually discerned.
15  The spiritual man makes judgments about all things, but he himself is not subject to any man’s judgment:
16  “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?” But we have the mind of Christ.

On verses 10-16:  By ourselves we have no ability to understand God’s thoughts.  How could finite, sinful, broken human beings like us possibly comprehend what’s goes on in the infinite, holy, perfect mind of God?  As verse 16 says, quoting Isaiah 40:13, “For who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct him?”   We can hardly know what is in another person’s mind; how much less are we able to know what God is thinking (v11).

Serve with Your Gifts, Love with Your Heart Copy

2021-07-30 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 12:28-13:3. Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 12:28 (NIV)
28  And in the church God has appointed first of all apostles, second prophets, third teachers, then workers of miracles, also those having gifts of healing, those able to help others, those with gifts of administration, and those speaking in different kinds of tongues.

On 12:28:  Here Paul lists a number of roles and spiritual gifts that God has given various individuals in His Church.  Looking at the first three that Paul mentions, an apostle is someone who is gifted and commissioned to start new churches and ventures and oversee their development.  A prophet is someone who senses when the Holy Spirit is giving a message to strengthen, encourage or comfort other people and communicates that message effectively to the people.  A teacher is someone who teaches God’s people by interpreting, explaining and applying the Bible in a way that causes them to learn.  The teaching role can also involve the ability to equip and train other believers to serve God effectively.  Truly it takes different types of individuals and different abilities and gifts to build God’s church.

掃羅及三子陣亡

2021-07-29 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉上 31:13 將他們骸骨葬在雅比的垂絲柳樹下，就禁食七日。

閱讀經文:〈撒母耳記〉上 31:1-13         〈歷代志〉上10章

以前看電視連續劇〈雍正王朝〉，它的主題曲寫得實在好，讓我在想到掃羅的結局時不禁想引用幾句：“數英雄論成敗 / 古今誰能說明白 / 千秋功罪任憑說 / 海雲天風獨往來 / 一心要江山圖治垂青史 / 也難說身後罵名滾滾來 / 有道是人間萬苦人最苦 / 終不悔九死落塵埃”。你覺得跟掃羅有沒有一點貼近的感覺？掃羅翻滾了一生，東征西討一心要江山圖治垂青史，可惜因為離開神，對大衛嫉恨交加，終於落個‘九死落塵埃’，更‘身後罵名滾滾來’。若給他再活一次，他會有不同的選擇嗎？若是神再給你一次重來的機會，你的人生會有何不同的選擇？

這一場以色列人和非利士人的戰役甚為壯烈，掃羅和他的三個兒子和跟隨掃羅的人，都戰死了。沒有神的恩典，以色列人在非利士人面前實在是不堪一擊。那時以色列人還不會製造鐵器，他們要兵器沒有兵器，要裝備沒有裝備，要戰士沒有戰士。有許多勇士，包括掃羅自己本族便雅憫的勇士，有些都投靠了大衛。因為掃羅的作為太失人心了。所以這場戰役對掃羅而言，是天不時、地不利、人不和，非敗不可。神給他的時間已經到頭了。

在撒母耳警告掃羅之後，神還給了掃羅機會和一段不算短的時間，希望他能悔改認罪。可惜掃羅一心想的只是神要把王位給大衛，所以非除掉大衛不可。人若不認清自己的責任，一心數算他人的錯，那麼自己就會越來越接近滅亡。大衛不殺他，他自己也會被滅亡。掃羅因著自己的驕傲自大，始終不肯悔改歸向神。他把王位看得太重，忘記那是出於神的恩典，而不是因著他自己的能力或作為。

Depending Not On Human Wisdom But On God’s Power

2021-07-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 2:1-9.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 2:1-9 (NIV)
1  When I came to you, brothers, I did not come with eloquence or superior wisdom as I proclaimed to you the testimony about God.
2  For I resolved to know nothing while I was with you except Jesus Christ and him crucified.
3  I came to you in weakness and fear, and with much trembling.
4  My message and my preaching were not with wise and persuasive words, but with a demonstration of the Spirit’s power,……

On verses 1-9:  Every day you need to make a choice: will you listen to and depend on worldly wisdom, or on God’s wisdom?

As we learned in 1 Corinthians 1:18-31, God’s plan to save us was not built on human wisdom, but on God’s higher wisdom.  In all our own human wisdom we would have never chosen to be saved the way God chose to save us — by sending Jesus Christ to die on the cross for our sins.  If it was up to us, we would probably come up with some kind of performance-based system where you need to earn your way to heaven (which by the way is what every religion, faith and new age philosophy other than Christianity teaches!)  But in His far better wisdom, God chose a far better way to save us.

The Foolishness of God

2021-07-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 1:18-31.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 1:18-31 (NIV)
18  For the message of the cross is foolishness to those who are perishing, but to us who are being saved it is the power of God.
19  For it is written: “I will destroy the wisdom of the wise; the intelligence of the intelligent I will frustrate.”
20  Where is the wise man? Where is the scholar? Where is the philosopher of this age? Has not God made foolish the wisdom of the world?
21  For since in the wisdom of God the world through its wisdom did not know him, God was pleased through the foolishness of what was preached to save those who believe…….

On verses 18-31:  This world will try to tell you that “people are essentially good, that if we just believe in ourselves, we can accomplish anything. We don’t need God, and we don’t need a Saviour.  We can be our own saviour.  All we need is ourselves.”  That’s man’s wisdom, the wisdom of this world.  This “wisdom” is what the Corinthians were hearing from the mouths of so-called wise men, scholars and “philosophers of this age” (v20).

亞瑪力人焚掠洗革拉

2021-07-28 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉上 30:24b  上陣的得多少，看守器具的也得多少，應當大家平分。

閱讀經文：〈撒母耳記〉上 30:1-31  

大衛離開了非利士人，走了三日，終於回到洗革拉。原以為能見到家人，沒想到洗革拉已面目全非。亞瑪力人來過了，攻破洗革拉，焚燒了洗革拉，帶走城內的婦女和大小人口，卻沒有殺一個。這是神很大的恩典和保守，身外物可以失去，生命卻無法挽回。看似好像很慘，可是我們繼續讀下去，便會發現，原來這有可能是神要把大衛支開的一個方法。倘若大衛留在洗革拉，必然聽到掃羅和非利士人的戰情，為了約拿單，為了在神面前的義，也為了以色列人，他不可能乾坐在洗革拉，很可能就帶人衝上戰場了。

但是現在碰上家人都被擄走，大家心急如焚，怎樣都要把他們先救回來，大衛也就無法分心再去考慮那麼多了。“大衛和跟隨他的人放聲大哭，直哭得沒有氣力”。這句話很感人。讓我們知道，大衛再怎樣厲害，也是一個有情的凡夫俗子，這是人最真實的一面。有人說：“男人有淚不輕彈，只因未到傷心處。”大衛和跟隨他的人過著飄泊不定的生涯，最想念的豈不是家的溫馨？妻子兒女的笑顏？在被掃羅追殺時，沒有人抱怨；在曠野沙漠，頂無片瓦時，也無人感到命苦；但是現在眾人為了自己的兒女，都恨不得拿大衛出氣，想拿石頭打死大衛。問題是，打死大衛也不能把妻兒救回來啊！

在眾人悲憤不已時，大衛做了一個最智慧的決定，去求問神。神給了他一個最美，讓他最感穴忍的答覆：“你可以追，必追得上，都救得回來。”這就是大衛和掃羅的不同，在最緊張的時刻，在眾人都要離開他的時候，掃羅就自行想辦法要挽回人心；但是大衛反而離開眾人去求問神。所以掃羅失敗，大衛成功。環境，往往像一杯熱水，要呈現裡面茶包的真滋味。你要讓環境左右你呢？還是讓神來主宰環境？“大衛卻倚靠耶和華他的神，心裡堅固”。大衛相信神能夠主宰這個局面，所以他心裡不慌亂，可以冷靜下來思考。哭可以哭，盡情地哭，但是眼淚擦乾之後，要繼續尋求神的帶領。