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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.

大衛遣使詣哈嫩

2021-08-15 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉下 10:12 我們都當剛強，為本國的民和神的城邑做大丈夫！願耶和華憑祂的意旨而行。

閱讀經文：〈撒母耳記〉下 10:1-19

〈箴言〉十七章20節說：“心存邪僻的尋不著好處，舌弄是非的陷在禍患中”。亞捫人的王哈嫩不識好歹，大衛因他父喪，派人去慰問他，他反而聽從小人之言，以小人之心度君子之腹，侮辱大衛的臣僕：剃去他們一半的鬍鬚，又割斷他們下半截的衣服，使他們露出下體。這樣的作法使他們和以色列人結了仇恨，本來可以和睦相交，只因為做得不得體，以致為亞捫人招來極大的禍患。

文革批鬥風盛行時，也有類似的做法：把人的頭髮剃一半、留一半，這樣的髮型，就叫“陰陽頭”。一般是剃光左邊、留下右邊頭髮；因為黑五類、牛鬼蛇神等人都被劃歸左中右的“右”裡面。有些人甚至對眉毛也同樣剃一半、留一半。在一些遺留的民俗裡，只有對小偷、妓女、敗壞門風的婦女，才採用這樣踐踏人格尊嚴的方法代替肉刑。剃髮之刑稱為髠（音：困）刑，是中國上古五刑之一，把人的頭髮全部剃掉或部份剃掉。現代人流行標新立異，有的人故意把頭髮剃掉一半，覺得很標新立意，可能沒想到這是屬於恥辱刑的刑罰。在魏晉南北朝時，佛教徒剃光頭，又不結婚，被認為大不孝，被稱為髠人。許多民族，包括以色列人，都認為鬍鬚是男性尊嚴的象徵，在神賜給以色列的律法中，禁止男人剃掉“兩鬢的頭髮” （指耳朵前邊和眼睛之間的毛髮），也不可刮掉鬍鬚的兩端（利19:27/21:5），因為那是外邦人的宗教習俗。

至於割斷下半截的衣服，使他們露出下體，那就更侮辱人了。因為下體是人最隱私之處，大衛迎約櫃時跳舞到忘情，不小心露出下體，就被米甲輕視了。更何況整半截的衣服被削掉，堂堂男子漢怎能受此大辱？大衛一聽到這消息，立刻派人去接他們，並且讓他們到耶利哥去住，等鬍鬚長起再回去。這是大衛對下屬的體貼，但是亞捫人從此就知道他們有禍了，因為做了令人憎惡的事。

教會應如何面對LGBT(1 )

2021-08-13 in , /by

從耶穌降生到基督再臨，這段漫長時間段，末世教會面臨各種挑戰，包括各種異端邪說以及世俗潮流對教會的衝擊，尤其是20世紀以來，人類社會受後現代主義文化思潮影響非常深，否認絕對真理，抵抗權威，反抗傳統。在後現代思潮的溫床下，LGBT群體在西方興起，顛覆一男一女的婚姻觀，和生理性別認同的傳統, 它們直接挑戰宣揚和捍衛絕對真理的教會.

不但生活在北美基督徒要面對這些群體和相關議題，西風東漸，國內弟兄姐妹也開始面對越來越多同性戀和跨性別的人群，對教會是一個新挑戰。先簡單介紹一下LGBT四個字母所代表的含義：

L 女同性戀 Lesbian

G 男同性戀 Gay （或者是對同性戀身份的認同）

B 雙性戀 Bisexual

T 跨性別 Transgendered

教會面對LGBT這個群體的新挑戰，不能只是“分別為聖”，不理會他們；也不能只是鄙視和指責，也不是只為下一代擔憂。教會需要從合乎聖經以及合乎常理的立場去對待這個群體以及所引發的問題。

在這堂信息裡，我們會談到以下四點：1）了解LGBT 群體 2）聖經的立場 3）裝備弟兄姐妹來面對 4）教育孩子來面對這些問題。

了解LGBT這個群體

說到LGBT，我們要明白人很複雜，每個個體也都很獨特，形成LGBT的原因各不相同, 他們在政治上參與推動LGBT合法化的積極性也不盡相同。所以不要有刻板印象，認為所有LGBT都是一個樣子。有些人對自己有LGBT的傾向和問題是隱藏的，不願意人知道，甚至包括自己的父母和朋友。有些人則是非常激進的，他們不但公開爭取LGBT的權利，甚至不惜犧牲別人的權益來鼓動，形成一種政治正確的意識形態。而介於隱藏和激進二者之間的，是那些敢於公開自己LGBT的身份, 但也不特別宣揚，不一定會去參與爭取LGBT政治權利的活動的人群。

What to Do about Disputable Matters

2021-08-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 8:1-13.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 8:1-13 (NIV)
1  Now about food sacrificed to idols: We know that we all possess knowledge. Knowledge puffs up, but love builds up.
2  The man who thinks he knows something does not yet know as he ought to know.
3  But the man who loves God is known by God.
4  So then, about eating food sacrificed to idols: We know that an idol is nothing at all in the world and that there is no God but one.
5  For even if there are so-called gods, whether in heaven or on earth (as indeed there are many “gods” and many “lords”),……

On verses 1-13:  In 1 Corinthians 8, Paul addresses a question that many Christians in his church had conflicting opinions about: is it okay to eat food sacrificed to idols or not (v1-4)?    From Paul’s answer, we can learn 3 questions to ask when determining whether you should engage in what seems like a questionable activity (whether it’s eating food sacrificed to idols, playing Pokemon Go, going trick or treating, or something else):

Question 1: Ask “Does God’s Word clearly and directly prohibit this activity?”  If yes, then the answer’s clear: don’t engage in this activity (or at least don’t engage in that part of the activity which is clearly prohibited by Scripture).  If God’s Word does not clearly and directly prohibit this activity, go to question 2.

大衛以仁慈待米非波設

2021-08-12 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉9:1    大衛問說：「掃羅家還有剩下的人沒有？我要因約拿單的緣故向他施恩。」

閱讀經文：〈撒母耳記〉下 9:1-13

瑪吉Machir，是瑪拿西的兒子，約瑟的孫子，基列的父親。在出埃及之後，瑪拿西的後裔曾經參與攻克基列和巴珊的戰役，他的後人就定居在這兩個地方。亞米利的兒子瑪吉就是約瑟和瑪拿西的後人，摩西把約旦河西的地方分給了流便、迦得和瑪拿西半個支派，瑪吉就住在約旦河西的基列地。羅底巴，是一句希伯來語，意思是“沒有草的地方”，可能是形容基列地多岩石的特質。在掃羅家破敗之後，約瑟的後人瑪吉還願意收留米非波設，一個殘廢的人，不愧是宰相之家的後代。

米非波設的原名是米力巴力（代上8:34），巴力是古代西亞西北閃米特語通行地區的一個封號，表示“主人”的意思，一般用於神祇。米力巴力含有“巴力的勇士”之意，後來被改名為米非波設。從世人的眼光，他真是生不逢時，生在帝王之家，原本是高貴的王子，不料卻碰上家破人亡的戰事，使他從一個王子變成一無所有的人；又因為乳母的失手，使他從一個本來可以大有作為的人變成一無可取，連行動都無法自如的人。人生的劇變和殘酷，往往是我們難以預料的。正好像有首黑人靈歌〈肯達基故鄉〉所說的：“人世不常，噩運來臨沒法想，從此別肯達基老家鄉”。

2015年六月一日，傳來長江遊輪東方一號，在十二級以上的龍捲風襲擊之下，一分鐘內傾覆，倒扣在水中，因為當時大家都準備休息，連求救的信號都來不及發出。這瞬間翻沉的事，誰能預先料到呢？原本快樂的旅程就這樣結束，變成一片號啕的痛哭聲，船上458人中有七人游上岸報警，其他人或已全部遇難。這就是人生的真相。東方一號的出事地點離湖北新洲碼頭大約四公里，只可惜，來不及了。出事都只在那一瞬間，使人措手不及。

Is It Better to Stay Single or Get Married?

2021-08-12 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 7:32-40.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 7:32-40 (NIV)
32  I would like you to be free from concern. An unmarried man is concerned about the Lord’s affairs–how he can please the Lord.
33  But a married man is concerned about the affairs of this world–how he can please his wife–
34  and his interests are divided. An unmarried woman or virgin is concerned about the Lord’s affairs: Her aim is to be devoted to the Lord in both body and spirit. But a married woman is concerned about the affairs of this world–how she can please her husband.
35  I am saying this for your own good, not to restrict you, but that you may live in a right way in undivided devotion to the Lord.
36  If anyone thinks he is acting improperly toward the virgin he is engaged to, and if she is getting along in years and he feels he ought to marry, he should do as he wants. He is not sinning. They should get married…….

On verses 32-40:  Here Paul gets realistic about the cost of getting married.  Every married person can attest to this: once you are married, you are no longer looking out for just yourself.  Now you have a spouse and possibly kids to be concerned about.

It’s for this reason that Paul seems to prefer singleness for Christians in 1 Corinthians 7.  Paul here even seems to encourage those who are engaged but who are not settled on their decision to marry to strongly consider singleness (v36-38). It’s not because marriage is sinful, but because practically speaking a single person has a lot more time and a lot less complicated life that he or she can devote to serving God.

Live for God’s Greater Purposes

2021-08-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 7:25-31.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 7:25-28 (NIV)
25  Now about virgins: I have no command from the Lord, but I give a judgment as one who by the Lord’s mercy is trustworthy.
26  Because of the present crisis, I think that it is good for you to remain as you are.
27  Are you married? Do not seek a divorce. Are you unmarried? Do not look for a wife.
28  But if you do marry, you have not sinned; and if a virgin marries, she has not sinned. But those who marry will face many troubles in this life, and I want to spare you this.

On verses 25-28:  What “present crisis” is Paul referring to in verse 26?  It is not entirely clear.  Some scholars think Paul may be referring specifically to a famine that had hit the region including Corinth.  Others think Paul may be referring more generally to the normal struggles people were experiencing from day to day, or what Paul believed was the soon coming return of Jesus Christ.  In any event, Paul advises the Christians in Corinth to “remain as you are” (v26).  So to the already married Paul tells them not to seek a divorce (v27a) and to those who are single Paul advises not to be too caught up trying to look for a future spouse (v27b).  Paul does clarify that getting married is certainly not a sin (v28a) but he wants to spare his people from the troubles that married people will inevitably go through (v28b).

大衛王的功績

2021-08-11 in , /by

〈撒母耳記〉下 8:15    大衛做以色列眾人的王，又向眾民秉公行義。

閱讀經文：〈撒母耳記〉下 8:1-18

在大衛打敗歌利亞之後，掃羅就立他作為千夫長及戰士長。那時年輕的大衛帶著那些年記比他大的軍兵們出入，因為耶和華與他同在，他也辦事精明，所以猶大和以色列眾人都愛大衛（撒上13:13-16）。大衛在躲避掃羅時，也要經歷一些大小戰役，神與大衛同在，但也不斷地在磨煉大衛，使他能擔起一國之君的大任。現在大衛終於作王了，神給他的軍事才華終於發揮得淋灕盡至。

非利士人從以色列人的士師時期就不斷騷擾以色列人，因為他們懂得冶鐵，所以在兵器上有極大的優勢。但是當大衛興起後，非利士人在歷史上就一蹶不起了。因此有人認為，迦特王亞吉把洗革拉給了大衛，正好給了大衛一個學習冶鐵的機會，從此以色列人有了兵器，非利士人就不能再猖狂了。大衛奪了非利士人京城的權柄，又打敗摩押人。

可能我們還記得，在大衛逃亡時，曾經把父母寄放在摩押王那裡，怎麼作了王之後，就把他們打得落花流水，還用繩量一量，量二繩的殺了，量一繩的存留？一繩表示年記小的，身材只有一繩那麼高。大衛沒有殺量一繩的，也就是沒有趕盡殺絕，給摩押人留下餘種。大衛和摩押人開戰的原因，我們不知道。但是我們看到大衛對摩押人的感情，只是殺掉成人，還是留下了年輕的，給他們有重新振興的機會，但不會威脅到以色列。

瑣巴王是在迦南地的北方。〈歷代志上〉第十八章記載：“瑣巴王哈大利謝往幼發拉底河去，，要堅定自己的國權。大衛就攻打他，直到哈馬。”所以在〈撒母耳記〉上八章所記的大河就是幼發拉底河。大衛的戰利品，兩本書記得不一樣，撒上記著：“大衛就攻打他，擒拿了他的馬兵一千七百，步兵二萬，將拉戰車的馬砍斷蹄筋，但留下一百輛車的馬。”代上記著：“奪了他的戰車一千，馬兵七千，步兵二萬，將拉戰車的馬砍斷蹄筋，但留下一百輛車的馬。”有解經家認為，在撒上有抄寫的失誤，沒有把戰車寫上去，兩者加起來應該是“奪了他的戰車一千，馬兵七百，步兵二萬”。