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The World Your Words Create

2021-07-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 50:14-26.  Let’s go!

Genesis 50:14-21 (NIV)
14  After burying his father, Joseph returned to Egypt, together with his brothers and all the others who had gone with him to bury his father.
15  When Joseph’s brothers saw that their father was dead, they said, “What if Joseph holds a grudge against us and pays us back for all the wrongs we did to him?”
16  So they sent word to Joseph, saying, “Your father left these instructions before he died:
17  ‘This is what you are to say to Joseph: I ask you to forgive your brothers the sins and the wrongs they committed in treating you so badly.’ Now please forgive the sins of the servants of the God of your father.” When their message came to him, Joseph wept.
18  His brothers then came and threw themselves down before him. “We are your slaves,” they said.
19  But Joseph said to them, “Don’t be afraid. Am I in the place of God?
20  You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.
21  So then, don’t be afraid. I will provide for you and your children.” And he reassured them and spoke kindly to them.

On verses 14-21:  Back in Egypt after burying their late father in Canaan, Joseph’s brothers wonder if Joseph still holds a grudge against them and has plans to exact revenge for all the ways they treated him long ago.  They send a message to Joseph saying that their father requested that Joseph forgive his brothers and asking Joseph to forgive them.  It’s unclear whether their father actually spoke those words or not. After all, if it was so important to Jacob that Joseph forgive his brothers, and given the close relationship between Jacob and Joseph, wouldn’t you expect Jacob to talk to Joseph about this directly? 

Born To Overcome, To Be Free and Fruitful

2021-07-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 49:18-33.  Let’s go!

Genesis 49:18 (NIV)
18  “I look for your deliverance, O LORD.

On verse 18:  Perhaps because of all the trouble, danger, conflict and pain that Jacob saw a number of his sons encountering in the future, Jacob cries out to God in the middle of prophesying over his sons, saying, “I look for your deliverance, O Lord” (v18).  Jacob, nearing the end of his life, does the one thing that we all need to do when we see trouble up ahead: cry out to God for help and look for God to deliver us. 

Genesis 49:19 (NIV)
19  “Gad will be attacked by a band of raiders, but he will attack them at their heels.

On verse 19:  Jacob prophesies that though Gad’s descendants would be attacked by others, Gad’s descendants would not be defeated but would attack their attackers “at their heels”, suggesting that Gad’s attackers will retreat and Gad will be victorious.  

Likewise, your enemy Satan will try to attack you in various ways, but you have everything you need to withstand his attack, go on the offensive and overcome your enemy in the end.  As John writes in 1 John 2:14, “I write to you, young men, because you are strong, and the word of God lives in you, and you have overcome the evil one.” Praise God! Though Satan will attack, you have everything you need to overcome the evil one.

七封信的总结：患难与得胜

2021-07-23 in , /by

〈启示录〉中的七个教会就像镜子，反映出历世历代以来教会的优缺点。这七封信告诉我们，基督在各地寻找有爱心的教会、遭受苦难的教会、纯洁的教会、遵守真理的教会、活着的教会、宣教的教会和火热的教会。耶稣不但向这七间教会指出目前的景况，还告诉他们将来会发生的事，也是在呼召基督徒好好预备自己，去面对将来要来临的大患难。
从整卷〈启示录〉的背景来看，耶稣不是分别给这七封信，祂一次给出七封信，在同一卷书中。

〈启示录〉二、三章的标题可订为「地上的状况不好」，败坏的世界使教会妥协，而教会的两大杀手是拜偶像和淫乱，已悄悄渗透教会；现在就要改过自新，在患难来临之前改正，妥协的教会是受不住逼迫的。

第四到五章这段标题可订为「天上的状况很好」。因为地上的状况一团乱，有许多苦难、战争、饥荒、地震、疾病，相较于约翰所看见的天上，上帝安详地坐在宝座上，前面有水晶海，四周有像绿宝石的虹环绕，一切都在掌控之中，不管地上发生什么事，上帝都不惊慌，因为祂了若指掌。上帝让基督掌管历史的结局，这结局记载在封了七印的书卷上，书卷上写着末日来临前，要发生的事。没有人配打开那印来终结历史，只有一位像狮子又像公羊者，公羊看起来像被宰杀过，身上有伤口，祂就是耶稣，祂是配得打开七印、掌管结局的人，因祂是首先的、末后的。

六到十八章的标题可订为「情况会先恶化再好转」。基督徒要面对的遭遇，不会比这里所描述的更糟。有四匹马跑遍天下，白马象征军事侵略、红马象征流血、黑马象征饥荒，灰马象征疾病。这四匹马已经在地上奔驰，天灾、巨大的冰雹、地震等，洋海、空气也遭到污染，全球都发生极大的灾难。这是上帝最后的警告，竭力叫人清醒，但世人仍不悔改。

Communicating God’s Heart To Those You Love

2021-07-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 49:1-17.  Let’s go!

Genesis 49:1-2 (NIV)
1  Then Jacob called for his sons and said: “Gather around so I can tell you what will happen to you in days to come.
2  “Assemble and listen, sons of Jacob; listen to your father Israel.

On verses 1-2:  Nearing his death, Jacob gathers his sons and begins to prophesy over his sons.  What is prophesy?   Simply put, prophesy is declaring God’s heart and God’s plans to God’s people.  Based on this definition of prophecy, I believe every parent has a prophetic role to play in the lives of their children and every leader has a prophetic role to play in the lives of those they lead.  We are to communicate God’s heart to the people we are leading.  “But how I do know what God’s heart, promises and plans are for the people in my care?”  Draw near to God.  Meditate on His Word.  More and more He will give you a sense of His heart for the people He has called you to lead.  When you speak in faith those prophetic pictures and images God places in your heart for the people in your care, the results will be powerful.  That is what Jacob is about to do in the verses that follow.

大卫再次放过扫罗

2021-07-22 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉上 26:24  我今日重看你的性命，愿耶和华也重看我的性命，并且拯救我脱离一切患难。

阅读经文：〈撒母耳记〉上 26:1-25 

现在出现的人名越来越多了，我们要来看一下，扫罗的元帅是谁？押尼珥是谁？大卫的元帅又是谁？不要小看大卫只有六百多人，也是一个小小的军队。扫罗的父亲是基士，押尼珥的父亲是尼珥，基士和尼珥是兄弟，所以扫罗和押尼珥是堂兄弟。亚比筛、约押和亚撒黑是大卫的姐姐洗鲁雅的儿子，算是大卫的外甥。所以不只是华人兄弟亲，在以色列人那样重视宗派的民族里，亲人的份量也很重。

〈历代志上〉第十一章记载了一个故事，当非利士的防营在伯利恒时，防营即防守地方的军队；那时大卫躲在亚杜兰洞的山寨里，不能下去伯利恒。但是他非常想喝伯利恒城门旁井里的水。他原只是说说而已，没想到真的有三个勇士听到他的话，就闯过非利士人的营盘，从伯利恒城门旁的井里打水，拿来给大卫喝。大卫知道后却不肯喝，因为他说那水就好像是三个勇士的血一样，因为他们冒着生命的危险去为他取水。因此他把水浇奠在耶和华面前。这三个勇士的首领就是约押的弟弟亚比筛。亚比筛曾经一个人用枪杀了三百人，这枪不是现代的子弹枪，是古时的长矛枪。所以他被推选为卅个勇士的首领。

亚比筛一生对大卫都非常忠诚，他骁勇善战，曾率兵击杀了一万八千个以东人，也带头击溃了亚扪人，平定后来便雅悯人示巴的叛乱。在大卫最后一次出征时，大卫碰上非利士巨人以实比诺，他的铜枪重三百舍客勒（约三公斤），又佩著新刀，也是亚比筛上前帮忙，杀死以实比诺，救了大卫。也因为忠于大卫，所以凡是有人要对大卫不利，他都会挺身而出，不顾自己的性命。

God’s Sovereign Choice to Bless You

2021-07-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 48:1-22.  Let’s go!

Genesis 48:1-6 (NIV)
1  Some time later Joseph was told, “Your father is ill.” So he took his two sons Manasseh and Ephraim along with him.
2  When Jacob was told, “Your son Joseph has come to you,” Israel rallied his strength and sat up on the bed.
3  Jacob said to Joseph, “God Almighty appeared to me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and there he blessed me
4  and said to me, ‘I am going to make you fruitful and will increase your numbers. I will make you a community of peoples, and I will give this land as an everlasting possession to your descendants after you.’
5  “Now then, your two sons born to you in Egypt before I came to you here will be reckoned as mine; Ephraim and Manasseh will be mine, just as Reuben and Simeon are mine.
6  Any children born to you after them will be yours; in the territory they inherit they will be reckoned under the names of their brothers.

On verses 1-6:  Jacob, nearing his death, gets ready to bless the generations that have come after him.   He decides to begin with Joseph and Joseph’s sons.  What does Jacob mean when he says that Joseph’s sons Ephraim and Manasseh will be reckoned as his own “just as Reuben and Simeon are mine” (v5)?  Jacob means that for inheritance purposes he will treat Ephraim and Manasseh as belonging to the same generation as Jacob’s own sons, meaning that Ephraim and Manasseh would each get the same kind of inheritance that their uncles would get.  The effect of this decision was two-fold: 

大卫和亚比该

2021-07-21 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉上 25: 30 我主现在若不亲手报仇流无辜人的血，到了耶和华照所应许你的话赐福与你，立你作以色列的王，那时我主必不致心里不安，觉得良心有亏。耶和华赐福与我主的时候，求你记念婢女。

阅读经文：〈撒母耳记〉上 25:1-44

以色列中集先知、士师和大祭司一身的伟人撒母耳死了。再伟大的人都要面对肉体的死亡，每一个人都要面对肉体的死亡。死了才能盖棺定论。对于撒母耳本人，他的工作实在可圈可点，值得我们学习的地方甚多。他的一生是以色列人从士师时代转到王国时代的一座桥。他的顺服在于，不得不去做神所不喜悦的事，却不能做神所喜悦的事。神不喜悦以色列人立王，但是当神叫撒母耳去做时，撒母耳不能不顺服。撒母耳的伟大在于他对神的顺服和尽忠，他一点没有私心。只可惜可能因为时间都用在照顾以色列人的事工上，以致和以利一样，没能把儿子们教好。但还是一个值我们敬爱和学习的伟人。

大卫在逃亡的过程里要经历许多事情，这章经文所写的故事使我们明白，在扫罗没有追杀他的日子里，他们所做的一些事情。因为跟随大卫的人口众多，先是四百人，再来是六百人，人数一直在增加。因此大卫不能不想办法去找口粮，使众人能够生存下去。这里说到在玛云有个大财主拿八，他有三千绵羊，一千山羊。他雇了人在迦密看顾他的羊群。但是他不知道，在旷野里有许多过游牧生活的阿拉伯人，又称为贝都因人，他们住在可以随时迁移的帐篷；他们主要的工作是养驼、养羊、狩猎、劫掠。

大卫和跟随他的人经常要在旷野上跑来跑去，看看有没有扫罗来的踪迹，因此看到有人骚扰拿八的羊群，便上前保护，因此使拿八的羊群一无所失。按著拿八一个仆人的说法：“他们昼夜做我们的保障”，表示大卫和从人都很看顾他们，免于被人欺负。

大卫在隐基底

2021-07-20 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉上 24:16 (大卫)对跟随他的人说：「我的主乃是耶和华的受膏者，我在耶和华面前万不敢伸手害他，因他是耶和华的受膏者。」

阅读经文：〈撒母耳记〉上 24:1-22

隐基底位于犹大旷野的尽头，正在死海的西岸，属犹大支派的城镇，是犹大山区的“出入口”。在亚伯拉罕时期是亚摩利人居住的地方。隐．基底En-Gedi由两个希伯来字组成，“隐”是泉源，“基底”指羔羊，所以，隐基底的意思就是“羔羊之泉”；又因为是野山羊出没之处，又称为“野羊的磐石”。在旷野和死海一带，隐基底有如世外桃园的绿洲。在〈雅歌〉里，所罗门王形容爱人如一束凤仙花开放在隐基底的葡萄园里(歌1:14)，非常有诗意。大卫逃避扫罗追杀时，逃到干旱疲乏无水的犹大旷野，隐基底成为他的避难所。

在这野羊的磐石里，大卫碰到一个千载难逢的机会。他和从人进入羊圈深处躲避扫罗，没想到在那样空旷的地方，那么多洞穴的地方，扫罗就选中了大卫他们躲的那个羊圈进去大解。是一个报仇的机会，也是一个对大卫的试探。跟随的人用神的话鼓励大卫去杀扫罗，大卫偷偷去割下扫罗的衣襟，心里却已经感到不对劲了。他立刻对跟随他的人说：“我的主乃是耶和华的受膏者，我在耶和华面前万不敢伸手害他，因他是耶和华的受膏者”。大卫的心里何等敬畏神，在这性命攸关的时刻，也不愿意逞一己之快而得罪神。他并且以同样的话去拦止跟随的人杀扫罗。

一个好像是神送上来的好机会，然而因着敬畏神，大卫战胜了这个试探。大卫若此时杀了扫罗，势必遗臭万年，成为一个不忠不义的弑君之臣，即使当上了以色列王，又有何面子？到处都会被指责他杀了以色列王，以色列人会忠于他吗？从历史上来看，虽然他根本没有动手加害扫罗，但是在大卫执政的初期，便雅悯族的人都认为大卫是抢了扫罗王位的人，而不肯归顺大卫。

The Riches of Christ’s Righteousness

2021-07-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 47:1-31.  Let’s go!

Genesis 47:13-22 (NIV)
13  There was no food, however, in the whole region because the famine was severe; both Egypt and Canaan wasted away because of the famine.
14  Joseph collected all the money that was to be found in Egypt and Canaan in payment for the grain they were buying, and he brought it to Pharaoh’s palace.
15  When the money of the people of Egypt and Canaan was gone, all Egypt came to Joseph and said, “Give us food. Why should we die before your eyes? Our money is used up.”
16  “Then bring your livestock,” said Joseph. “I will sell you food in exchange for your livestock, since your money is gone.”……

On verses 13-22:  The famine in Egypt and Canaan is severe.  On behalf of the Egyptian government, Joseph first sells grain to the Egyptians in exchange for their money.  But when the Egyptians have no more money to give, Joseph agrees to give the Egyptians grain in exchange for their livestock.  When the Egyptians have no more livestock to give, Joseph agrees to give the Egyptians grain in exchange for their real estate.  When the Egyptians’ real estate had all been transferred to the government, the Egyptians still had a need for grain, so Joseph agrees to hire the Egyptians as workers for the Egyptian government.  He gives the Egyptians grain to plant in the ground and allows them to keep 80% of the harvest while giving 20% back to the Egyptian government.  Only the land of the priests was not touched, since the priests received a regular allotment from Pharaoh.

西弗人帮助扫罗

2021-07-19 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉上23:14  大卫住在旷野的山寨里，常在西弗旷野的山地。扫罗天天寻索大卫，神却不将大卫交在他手里。

阅读经文：〈撒母耳记〉上23:14-29

很奇妙啊，扫罗和约拿单都去找大卫，同样在西弗旷野的树林里，约拿单一下子就找著了，扫罗天天寻索大卫却找不着。这也是天父的幽默感。扫罗作王，不管理国事，一天到晚就想着要除掉大卫；扫罗喜欢到处乱跑，就给他跑个够，让他疲于奔命。看他何时才会发现自己的愚蠢！我们若不寻求神的心意，也会变成一个扫罗式的人，为了自以为重要的事忙个不停，到最后才发现所付出的精力和财力都是徒劳无功。

西弗旷野也在犹大支派的领地里，旷野和树林都是缺少人烟的地方。西弗ziph的原意是flowing涌流，在旷野或沙漠中有何物会涌流？但是神奇妙的恩典就在这看似没有希望和前景之地，向大卫涌流出祂的厚爱。像一只被追逐的动物，大卫不断地逃，扫罗不停地追；大卫每天要观望，要逃躲，会不会觉得自己年轻的生命就这样浪费了？在旷野里有一餐没一餐，卧无遮盖，睡无床舖，餐风露宿，不知何时才到头？但是在旷野中，约拿单来了。

这个曾经用自己性命保他的王子，约拿单来了。约拿单来看大卫，他说了三件事，使大卫在旷野的生命得到了涌流的祝福。一，他劝告大卫，使他倚靠神得以坚固。仿佛神看到大卫已经开始软弱疲乏，很想放弃一切时，让约拿单来鼓励他，要倚靠神。人都有软弱的时候，此时我们需要的，是灵里互相劝勉的朋友，再次提醒我们，要倚靠神得以坚固，不倚靠神就站立不住。