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Chase Success in God’s Eyes + Beware Spiritual Pride

2021-08-02 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 4:1-8.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 4:1-5 (NIV)
1  So then, men ought to regard us as servants of Christ and as those entrusted with the secret things of God.
2  Now it is required that those who have been given a trust must prove faithful.
3  I care very little if I am judged by you or by any human court; indeed, I do not even judge myself.
4  My conscience is clear, but that does not make me innocent. It is the Lord who judges me.
5  Therefore judge nothing before the appointed time; wait till the Lord comes. He will bring to light what is hidden in darkness and will expose the motives of men’s hearts. At that time each will receive his praise from God.

On verses 1-5:  The people in the church in Corinth had their share of “Paul groupies” and “Apollos groupies”.  The Paul groupies loved to talk about how great Paul was and how much better he was than any other Christian leader.  They would boast about their allegiance to Paul and look with disdain at those who were led by other Christian leaders.  The Apollos groupies loved to do the same as it related to Apollos.   In response to all this, here Paul is basically saying, “Stop putting Apollos and me on a pedestal. 

大卫受膏做犹大王

2021-08-02 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉下 2:4  犹大人来到希伯仑，在那里膏大卫做犹大家的王。

阅读经文: 〈撒母耳记〉下 2:1-32

大卫的逃亡生涯结束了，他的第一件事是求问神：“我上犹大的一个城去可以吗？”扫罗死了，以色列地有什么地方大卫不能去的吗？大卫哪里都可以去，但是他觉得自己是属神的人，是神所膏的王，所以他必须听从神的命令。这是何等的顺服！然后他再求问神要上哪一个城去？神指示他上希伯仑，所以他就带着妻子和跟随他的人都带到希伯仑。

当大卫到了希伯仑之后，我们就看见他以前所送的礼，所结交的朋友，现在都“发酵”了。犹大人来到希伯仑，在那里膏大卫作王。大卫知道“建立关系”的重要性，所以他听到基伊拉的城受困，他就去救基伊拉；在旷野时，他就帮助放羊的，免得他们被掳掠；他打胜仗得了掠物，就拿去送犹大的长老们。在逃亡的生涯中，大卫没有因而自暴自弃，反而在每一个关键时刻去帮助别人，与人建立良好的关系。如此，当他住进希伯仑时，犹大人就承认了撒母耳曾经膏大卫做王这件事，同心接受大卫做他们的王。大卫一生中三次被膏为王，这是第二次，第三次是被膏为全以色列的王。

此时以色列大半的国土都已失去，约旦河以西只剩下一些犹大支派的地，例如希伯仑。扫罗的元帅押尼珥带着残兵败将，和扫罗所剩的唯一儿子伊施波设，逃到了约旦河东的玛哈念，立伊施波设为王。押尼珥难道不知道神已经借着撒母耳膏大卫为王吗？可是一旦伊施波设不做王，那么他也当不成元帅。为了保住他自己的权势，押尼珥必须立伊施波设为王。事实上，此时真正发号施令的是押尼珥，不是伊施波设，后者只是个傀儡。

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.

大卫写〈弓歌〉

2021-08-01 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉下 1:25 英雄何竟在阵上仆倒，约拿单何竟在山上被杀！

阅读经文：   〈撒母耳记〉下 1:1-27

就在大卫去追亚玛力人，夺回自己和众人的妻儿、财物和牲畜之际，也正是扫罗带领以色列人和非利士人大战之时，扫罗和约拿单都死了，以色列人大败。大卫和跟随他的人正在庆幸找回了家人和财物，而大卫可能会想起，非利士人和以色列人的战争不知进行得如何了？那时没有电视，也没有伊妹儿(email)或爱凤(iphone)，消息传得相当慢。到了第三天，才有人来讨赏。

那是一个住在以色列人中的亚玛力人，可能是作为雇佣兵而参战的。他把扫罗临死的情形告诉大卫，并取来扫罗头上的冠冕、臂上的镯子以作证据。他可能知道大卫已被膏为王，也知道扫罗追杀大卫的事，因为扫罗带兵公开去追杀大卫；所以他认为大卫知道扫罗被杀一定很高兴，因为大卫的仇敌死了，大卫就可以作王了。因此他觉得自己一定可以领到不少奖赏。但是出乎他意料之外，大卫不但不感激他，把他训了一顿，还叫人把他杀了。

这就是大卫。可能有人觉得他矫情，扫罗死了，他岂有不高兴的道理？他不是终于不必东躲西逃了吗？但是大卫的过人之处就在于他敬畏神，所以他一直很尊重扫罗。他在吊扫罗和约拿单所写的哀歌里，把他对扫罗的尊重和对约拿单表露无遗。扫罗其实充满嫉恨残酷，但是大卫不理私人恩怨，只看扫罗在国中所做的。他称扫罗为尊荣者、大英雄。扫罗起初的作为的确是以色列的尊荣者、大英雄。大卫记得扫罗为以色列人做过的好事。

认识神的声音

2021-07-30 in , /by

你知道撒但的诡计，竭尽所能在我们身上所要做的事吗？〈约翰福音〉10:10提到，盗贼来，无非要偷窃、杀害、毁坏。撒但要来进行毁坏，其先蒙蔽我们的一大战略，就是使我们以为根本没有撒但或魔鬼，这样他们就能轻易进入我们的心，甚至占领。识破撒但诡计的第一步，便是要知道如何辨识心里的声音是出于神，还是来自撒但的耳边细语…

撒但进行毁坏的第一步－攻占你的心

《圣经》一再提醒我们，无论是信者或未信者，所面临最大的争战，是发生在我们内心的这片「战场」，这是撒但一心想攻占的领地。我们自己的对手不是你我，而是管辖幽暗世界的「他们」，以弗所书6:12：因我们并不是与属血气的争战，乃是与那些执政的、掌权的、管辖这幽暗世界的，以及天空属灵气的恶魔争战。

撒但的最大伎俩，就是使人类不相信有他以及魔鬼们的存在，只要我们否认他们的存在，我们就不会去和他们争战。若我们毫无防备，魔鬼们便能轻而易举入侵，使我们无法过得胜的生活。

所以，首先我们必须要能识出撒但的声音与谎言。从《圣经》中我们清楚看到撒但如何左右我们内心的对话，并影响人的行为（马太福音4:1-10，使徒行传5:3，帖撒罗尼迦前书 2:18）。

神在我们生命中有一个超乎我们所能想像的计画，祂的目的一定是为你好，但是感觉不一定总是良好，然而，撒旦的邪恶计画也不会让你一直感觉很糟糕－这就是撒但的伪装与谎言，我们务必小心谨慎。

曾于《加拿大福音派自由教会》牧会多年，现任ACTS神学院执行主任的盖依‧萨德福博士（Dr. Guy Saffold）透过这篇文章，指导我们如何辨识神的声音和撒但的谎言。

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.

扫罗及三子阵亡

2021-07-29 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉上 31:13 将他们骸骨葬在雅比的垂丝柳树下，就禁食七日。

阅读经文:〈撒母耳记〉上 31:1-13         〈历代志〉上10章

以前看电视连续剧〈雍正王朝〉，它的主题曲写得实在好，让我在想到扫罗的结局时不禁想引用几句：“数英雄论成败 / 古今谁能说明白 / 千秋功罪任凭说 / 海云天风独往来 / 一心要江山图治垂青史 / 也难说身后骂名滚滚来 / 有道是人间万苦人最苦 / 终不悔九死落尘埃”。你觉得跟扫罗有没有一点贴近的感觉？扫罗翻滚了一生，东征西讨一心要江山图治垂青史，可惜因为离开神，对大卫嫉恨交加，终于落个‘九死落尘埃’，更‘身后骂名滚滚来’。若给他再活一次，他会有不同的选择吗？若是神再给你一次重来的机会，你的人生会有何不同的选择？

这一场以色列人和非利士人的战役甚为壮烈，扫罗和他的三个儿子和跟随扫罗的人，都战死了。没有神的恩典，以色列人在非利士人面前实在是不堪一击。那时以色列人还不会制造铁器，他们要兵器没有兵器，要装备没有装备，要战士没有战士。有许多勇士，包括扫罗自己本族便雅悯的勇士，有些都投靠了大卫。因为扫罗的作为太失人心了。所以这场战役对扫罗而言，是天不时、地不利、人不和，非败不可。神给他的时间已经到头了。

在撒母耳警告扫罗之后，神还给了扫罗机会和一段不算短的时间，希望他能悔改认罪。可惜扫罗一心想的只是神要把王位给大卫，所以非除掉大卫不可。人若不认清自己的责任，一心数算他人的错，那么自己就会越来越接近灭亡。大卫不杀他，他自己也会被灭亡。扫罗因着自己的骄傲自大，始终不肯悔改归向神。他把王位看得太重，忘记那是出于神的恩典，而不是因着他自己的能力或作为。

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).