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Extend Forgiveness To Those Who Hurt You

2021-09-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 2:1-11.  Let’s go!

2 Corinthians 2:1-11 (NIV)
1  So I made up my mind that I would not make another painful visit to you.
2  For if I grieve you, who is left to make me glad but you whom I have grieved?
3  I wrote as I did so that when I came I should not be distressed by those who ought to make me rejoice. I had confidence in all of you, that you would all share my joy……

On verses 1-11:  It appears that there were two incidents that caused evident tension in the relationship between Paul and the church in Corinth.  The first incident Paul mentions was his most recent visit to the church in Corinth, a visit which Paul described as “painful” (v1).  It was painful probably because Paul seriously reprimanded people in the church for not resolving certain problems that he had warned them about before, or because someone in the church publicly criticized and tried to embarrass Paul to his face, or both.

The second incident was a letter Paul wrote “out of great distress and anguish of heart and with many tears” (v4), a letter in which Paul poured out his heart for the church, expressed his distress about the direction they were moving in (v3) and likely rebuked the church as well.  Paul’s goal in writing that letter was “not to grieve you but to let you know the depth of my love for you” (v4) and “to see if you would stand the test and be obedient in everything” (v9).  This letter caused a minority in the church – in fact, probably just one person – to behave extremely immaturely and start bashing Paul.

Power in weakness

2021-09-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Corinthians 1:12-24.  There is a tremendous amount we can learn from this passage.  Let’s go!

To understand verses 12-24, it’s important to understand the state of Paul’s relationship with the church in Corinth when Paul wrote 2 Corinthians.  It seems that Paul was being heavily criticized by a number of Christians in Corinth.  One reason they would criticize Paul was because they knew of the great difficulties that Paul experienced as he sought to spread the gospel wherever he went, including great persecutions, shipwrecks, imprisonment, and other life-threatening trials.  Some of the Corinthians thought that Paul’s afflictions meant that Paul was not “blessed by God” and thus was not as great a leader as other individuals who were coming to the Corinthians and calling themselves “super apostles” who seemingly never had any problems.  In reality, it could be that these “super apostles” were simply not telling the Corinthians about their difficulties, whereas Paul was open and transparent with the Corinthians about his problems.  But instead of respecting Paul and being proud of Paul for being open with them about his trials and for persevering through those trials, the Corinthians would hold Paul’s trials against him, seeing them as a reason to be ashamed of Paul.  

基遍人向扫罗家复仇

2021-09-05 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉下 21:13 大卫将扫罗和他儿子约拿单的骸骨从那里搬了来，又收殓被悬挂七人的骸骨。

阅读经文：〈撒母耳记〉下 21 章

大卫年间有三年的饥荒，国家出问题了，大卫要找出问题的原因，便去求问神。我们的生命或生活里，有时也会出问题，觉得做什么事都不顺。有的人会去问算命的，有的人会去庙里求问，但是我们可以求问的只有神，祂不会为了贪钱而胡说八道，也不会误导人让人倾家荡产，因为祂诚心实意要为求问的人解决问题。大卫求问神，神就让他看到饥荒的原因。

可能有许的人在做坏事时，不知道会连累到自己的后代，所以才会尽情地作恶吧。假如知道自己做了坏事，会使后代付出生命的代价，那么会不会收歛一点呢？扫罗杀基遍人这事，便是如此。扫罗自己不顺服神，不听神的话，却想要甪自己的方法去取悦神，破坏了约书亚和基遍人所立的合约，以致他的后裔遭祸。你觉得值不值得？神要扫罗做的事，他不去做；神没有叫他做的事，他却去做，这就是扫罗的悲哀。

很多人想取悦神，想知道神对他们的心意，明白前途何去何从；但是他们却不肯听神的话，反而觉得神应该用他们认可的方法来引导他们，这便是自大了。基遍人在约书亚带领以色列人进迦南时，明白自己断然无法胜过以色列人，因此假扮成远来的异族，与约书亚立下互不侵犯的合约。后来被发现原来是在迦南的异族之一，便甘心做了以色列中服苦的人。约书亚已经立约不杀他们，但是隔了那么几百年后，扫罗为何还要去杀他们？

The God of All Comfort

2021-09-03 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Now onto today’s GAME passage.  Today we begin the book of 2 Corinthians, which Paul wrote to the church in Corinth in approximately 56 AD.  We start today with 2 Corinthians 1:1-11.  Let’s go!

2 Corinthians 1:1-2 (NIV)
1  Paul, an apostle of Christ Jesus by the will of God, and Timothy our brother, To the church of God in Corinth, together with all the saints throughout Achaia:
2  Grace and peace to you from God our Father and the Lord Jesus Christ.

On verses 1-2:  Though it is called “2 Corinthians”, scholars believe that this letter is actually the fourth letter that Paul wrote to the church in Corinth.  Paul’s first letter to the Corinthians has never been found. His second letter has become known as “1 Corinthians” and was written to address a number of problems happening in the church.  After writing the letter known as 1 Corinthians, Paul would make a “painful visit” (2 Corinthians 2:1) to the church in Corinth, probably to reprimand the church because the problems he wrote about in 1 Corinthians had not been adequately dealt with.  Paul would then write a couple more letters to the church in Corinth, with 2 Corinthians being the last of these letters.  As shown in verse 1, Paul wrote 2 Corinthians with the help of Timothy, Paul’s apprentice, who was likely writing down Paul’s words as he dictated them.  Paul would make one more visit to the church in Corinth after writing this letter.

教会应如何面对LGBT(4 )

2021-09-03 in , /by

以下有几点建议：

鼓励他们寻求帮助

鼓励他们把自己的挣扎，和教会属灵生命成熟的人分享，请求他们指引和守望祷告。说到守望祷告，为他们祷告时要小心祷告的内容。有的人这样祷告说，“主啊，求主你医治某某，让他成为正常。”你要先定义，你所谓的正常是指什么？是按照什么标准？我们要了解，神带领每个人为祂活的方式都不相同，相信神对跨性别，或被同性吸引的弟兄姐妹带领也是不同的。有的被同性吸引的同性恋者，神带领他们结婚生子，过著神所赐的美好婚姻生活。有的人并没有因为信了主而变成异性恋者，神带领他们选择过单身生活，在面对同性吸引的试探时，靠着主赐的恩典来得胜。正如我前面举的那个有跨性别挣扎的弟兄，虽然他目前还有想成为女性的念头，但他选择按照生理的男性来生活，也对结婚生子存开放的心，他最高的追求是在生活中学习爱人如己，以此来荣耀神。那么你说，这位弟兄正常吗？个人以为，他虽然有想成为女性的挣扎，但按照圣经圣洁的标准，他是一个属灵的正常人。因此，我们不要有错误的期望以致祷告的方向产生偏差,也不要让你的祷告带来当事人的“二度伤害”。

教导圣经立场和生活应用

要常常教导弟兄姐妹圣经一男一女的婚姻，以及上帝以生理作为性别区分的立场。同时告诉他们，同性间要界定在“友情”，而绝非爱情。对那些相对容易受同性吸引的弟兄姐妹，要提醒他们在跟同性建立亲密友谊上，特别儆醒和谨守。如果因被同性吸引而开始出现污秽的思想，要藉祷告当下治死污秽的思想，尊重对方是主里的弟兄或姐妹。是将来别人的丈夫或妻子。如果是跟不信主的同事相处，要尊重对方是带有神形象的人而不要给性幻想留余地。教导他们如果发现对同性朋友的思念已经超过一般的友情，要逃避试探，减少联系的次数，或见面的频率。并请守望同伴为他们祷告。

事实上，不单是他们要警醒谨守，每个基督徒都要一样要警醒谨守。只要新天新地还没有来临，罪和魔鬼还没有除灭，基督徒都要面对许多“不同形式”的试探和引诱。因此，弟兄姐妹千万不要以为自己已经持守好几年圣洁了，彼得提醒我们“务要谨守和儆醒”。

Be A Thoughtful Planner

2021-09-02 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 16:1-12.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 16:1-12 (NIV)
1  Now about the collection for God’s people: Do what I told the Galatian churches to do.
2  On the first day of every week, each one of you should set aside a sum of money in keeping with his income, saving it up, so that when I come no collections will have to be made.
3  Then, when I arrive, I will give letters of introduction to the men you approve and send them with your gift to Jerusalem.
4  If it seems advisable for me to go also, they will accompany me. ……

On verses 1-12:  In 1 Corinthians 16:1-12, Paul shares his plans with his church in Corinth.  Notice how intentional and thoughtful Paul is in his planning.  Whether it’s about giving and collecting offerings (v1-4), about his travels and how he spends his time (v5-8), about how to treat his own disciples like Timothy (v10-11) or how to lead and take care of the church (v12), Paul explores different options, considers their advantages and disadvantages, and carefully plans out his steps.

What can we learn from this?  Whether it’s in regard to your ministry, your family, your finances, the way you give, your future, or your friendships, be a thoughtful planner.

Beware the misconception that spiritual leadership is all about “feeling the Holy Spirit” and nothing more.  Those who think this way will try to make it seem as though thoughtful planning is somehow unspiritual, that to plan means you’re not trusting God, and that it is more spiritual and supernatural to be spontaneous than to be strategic. 

示巴叛变

2021-09-02 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉下 20:21c 妇人对约押说：「那人的首级必从城墙上丢给你。」

阅读经文：〈撒母耳记〉下 20:1-26

紧接着示每带着便雅悯人来向大卫认罪并迎接大卫过河，大卫回朝之后，又有另一个便雅悯人示巴起来叛变，反对大卫。扫罗王是便雅悯人，便雅悯人一定相当为扫罗自豪，因为他是以色列人的第一个王。没想到扫罗死了之后，不仅神膏了大卫做王，以色列各支派也都拥立大卫为王。在扫罗家，也就是便雅悯支派，有许多人因而感到失落和不满，觉得大权旁落，便雅悯支派的荣耀被抢去了。因此，示每在大卫落难时咒骂大卫，向他丢石头；而示巴趁著内战稍停之际也起来叛变，希望有机可乘，一举把大卫赶下宝座。

示巴的口号喊得可响亮了：“我们与大卫无份，与耶西的儿子无涉。以色列人哪，你们各回各家去吧！”这是一个离间计，使以色列人忘记大卫是神所膏的王，以及大卫曾为以色列立下的功绩。以色列人何等健忘，前一刻还想念著大卫所做的一切，后一刻就仿佛与他无关，不理会大卫，跟随示巴去了。所以我们若想要靠人的“捧场”，实在很危险。人的心何等不可靠。

亚玛撒是大卫的另一个外甥，他在押沙龙叛变时，做押沙龙的元帅，大卫饶他不死，还立他代替约押为以色列人的元帅。大卫要给他一个立功的机会，可是亚玛撒似乎不很卖力，对大卫给他的第一个命令迟迟无法完成。大卫因而转令亚比筛去追杀示巴，因为大卫看见示巴的叛乱比押沙龙的篡位影响更大，因为押沙龙要的只是王位，示巴则把以色列人都带走了，只留下犹大人，造成王国的分裂。此时大卫要亚比筛速速去追赶示巴，而不是派约押，很可能因为约押杀了押沙龙，所以大卫对他不满，因此把他“冷冻”起来。

Imperishable Hope

2021-09-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 15:50-58.  Let’s go!

1 Corinthians 15:50-53 (NIV)
50  I declare to you, brothers, that flesh and blood cannot inherit the kingdom of God, nor does the perishable inherit the imperishable.
51  Listen, I tell you a mystery: We will not all sleep, but we will all be changed–
52  in a flash, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trumpet. For the trumpet will sound, the dead will be raised imperishable, and we will be changed.
53  For the perishable must clothe itself with the imperishable, and the mortal with immortality.

On verses 50-53:  What is Paul saying here?  Let me explain it this way.  When you trust Jesus Christ as your Saviour, you become a new creation (2 Corinthians 5:17).  You received a new heart and a new spirit (one destined to be with God forever rather than one destined to be apart from God forever) (Ezekiel 36:26).  But while your spirit was made new in Christ, your body didn’t change.  I would be really surprised if the moment you received Jesus into your life, you went from balding to a full head of hair, or from a beer belly to six pack abs, or from your current bodily measurements to a clothing size up or down.  In other words, though some crucial changes happened in your spirit when you received Jesus, your body stayed the same.  

大卫重返耶路撒冷

2021-09-01 in , /by

〈撒母耳记〉下  19:15 王就回来，到了约旦河。犹大人来到吉甲，要去迎接王，请他过约旦河。

阅读经文：〈撒母耳记〉下 19:8-43

在这章经文里，我们嗅到有许多政治的味道。大卫王不愧是个政治家，在处理问题时，面面俱到。我们也可以看到人情冷暖的变化。押沙龙一死，跟随他的以色列支派立刻回想起大卫的好处，大卫曾经带领以色列人争战，脱离各方仇敌，包括非利士人的辖制，这样好的王，岂能不赶快把他请回来，难道要再沦为敌人的奴隶吗？他们当初不顾情面，膏押沙龙做王，想跟着押沙龙大干一场，夺取大卫的王权；没想到押沙龙一死，树倒猢狲散，以色列人就又想回到大卫那里。可见人心多么不可靠，好像芦苇一样，风往哪边吹，它就往哪边倒。

大卫摆出王的架势，要犹大长老们来接他回宫，有两个前题：一是以色列其他支派已经发言要请王回来，犹大支派是大卫的本家，怎可落后？二，他要亚玛撒放心，大卫不因为他帮助押沙龙而杀他，反而要立他为元帅，代替约押。大卫的话使犹大长老放心，因此立刻到吉甲迎接大卫。这样大卫也有面子了。大卫很懂得部下的心理，否则大家都害怕他回来报仇，虽然想要他回来，也不敢出声。

曾经在大卫落难逃走时，咒骂大卫，又对他丢石头的示每，现在领着一千便雅悯人和洗巴等人去接大卫，还预备了摆渡船，任王的家眷使用。又俯伏在大卫面前求大卫赦免他的罪。这就是人的可怕之处，看你落难了，就打落水狗；看你发达了，他就变成一只摇头摆尾的狗。大卫虽然暂时饶他不死，但是后来交给所罗门去处理。大卫非常聪明，在这个时候控制了要报仇的意念，免得以色列人的人心惶惶。倘若他杀了示每，那么其他人自知有罪，为了保命，很有可能联合起来，真的不给他回去了。反正都要死的话，不如拚命，放手一搏。大卫很聪明，他不报仇，使大家警戒的心都松懈下来，不再担心，也就不会再反抗了。

Let’s Talk About Your Body

2021-08-31 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Corinthians 15:35-49.  Let’s go!

On verses 35-49:  In 1 Corinthians 15:35-49, Paul addresses a question that people back then and people today have about resurrection: if Christians will physically rise from the dead, what kind of bodies will they have? Will we look the same way as when we died?  Will we look like zombies? Will those who died with wounds still show those wounds when they are resurrected? Will we look younger or older?  What about people whose bodies were cremated after they died? What will our resurrected bodies look like?

In response to these questions, Paul says: don’t expect your resurrection body to look just like the body you died in (v37). Rather, your resurrection body will have a splendour that is altogether different from your earthly body (v40).

Does that mean that guys who always wanted six pack abs will get it with their resurrection body? Does that mean the parts of your body which you wish were smaller or bigger will be your ideal size when you get your resurrection body? I can’t promise anything. But if we take a clue from how the disciples didn’t immediately recognize the resurrected Jesus after he appeared to them (for example, Luke 24:15-16), it’s very possible that when your loved ones see you in your resurrected body, your resurrection body will look different enough that they might not recognize you at first, but then when they realize it’s you they’ll be like, “Wow! It IS you!”