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God Cares About The Fruit You Bear

2021-05-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 11:10-32.  Let’s go!

Genesis 11:10-26 (NIV)
10  This is the account of Shem. Two years after the flood, when Shem was 100 years old, he became the father of Arphaxad.
11  And after he became the father of Arphaxad, Shem lived 500 years and had other sons and daughters.
12  When Arphaxad had lived 35 years, he became the father of Shelah.
13  And after he became the father of Shelah, Arphaxad lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
14  When Shelah had lived 30 years, he became the father of Eber.
15  And after he became the father of Eber, Shelah lived 403 years and had other sons and daughters.
16  When Eber had lived 34 years, he became the father of Peleg……

On verses 10-26:  In what the author of Genesis calls the account (i.e. the story or genealogy) of Shem (v10), we find a family tree linking Noah’s oldest son Shem to Terah, the father of Abram (later to be known as Abraham).  Verses 10 to 26 help us to see the connection between two very important figures in the Old Testament: Noah and Abraham.

In this list of ancestors, a pattern recurs where it says “When this person had lived X years, he became the father of Y, and after he became the father of Y, he lived Z years and had other sons and daughters.”  Notice that the author of Genesis starts counting years of a person’s life based on when they became a father to their first born.  What can we learn from this?  For me it’s a subtle reminder that God made us to bear fruit.  I’m not just talking about reproducing children of your own; rather I’m talking about what kind of fruit you are reproducing with your life.

The Power of a United Team

2021-05-04 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 11:1-9.  Let’s go!

Genesis 11:1 (NIV)
1  Now the whole world had one language and a common speech.

On verse 1:  How could the whole world, or at least the whole world as the author of Genesis had known it, have one language and a common speech when Genesis 10:5 already says that certain maritime peoples had their own languages?  One theory is that there may have been one common language by which all people groups communicated, though each group may have also had their own dialects.  Another theory is that Genesis 10:5 is referring to events that took place after what we read about here in Genesis 11:1. 

Genesis 11:2 (NIV)
2  As men moved eastward, they found a plain in Shinar and settled there.

On verse 2:  According to some scholars, Shinar was likely located in modern day Iraq.

Genesis 11:3-4 (NIV)
3  They said to each other, “Come, let’s make bricks and bake them thoroughly.” They used brick instead of stone, and tar for mortar.
4  Then they said, “Come, let us build ourselves a city, with a tower that reaches to the heavens, so that we may make a name for ourselves and not be scattered over the face of the whole earth.”

心靈上的鐵車

2021-05-04 in , /by

〈士師記〉 1:19 耶和華與猶大同在，猶大就趕出山地的居民，只是不能趕出平原的居民，因為他們有鐵車。

閱讀經文：〈士師記 〉1:1-36

有人說〈士師記〉是整本《聖經》中最悲哀的一卷書，描寫神的子民離開神，倚靠自己的力量去生存，不但無法奪取未得之地，甚至喪失已得之地，成為異族蹂躙的對象。這也是形容信徒離開神的光景，不但無法過得勝的生活，反而被罪惡所勝，再度成為罪的奴僕，被罪奴役。約書亞帶領以色列人進入迦南，打下了基礎，以色人卻無法完成神的託咐、剩下的使命；正如基督為我們完成了救恩，我們也接受救恩成為神的兒女，但是卻未能倚靠神去戰勝老我，以致老我居首，又把聖靈關到地下室。

因此我們明白，信心和行為相輔相成的必要。約書亞死後，以色列人的信心開始逐漸轉移。以色列人的團結性也逐漸分散，各打各的仗，以致於力量分散，無法像約書亞在世時，集中一氣去打戰的氣勢。一開始，彷彿還是有點信心，以色列人去求問神，誰應該先出戰。猶大邀請西緬一起作戰，因為西緬的地域就在猶大的領域之內。「猶大就上去，耶和華將迦南人和比利洗人交在他們手中」，意思是，猶大一上去，神就把敵人交給他。猶大有憑著信心而出的行為，神立刻回應。這就是神對我們的要求，好像過約旦河時，祭司的腳必須先踏入水中，水才分開。倘若祭司害怕，要神先把水分開，那麼他們就無法過河了。猶大採取行動，神就祝福。

猶大和西緬打了個大勝仗，在比色擊殺了一萬人，又抓到亞多尼比色。亞多尼比色是個頭銜，指他是「比色的王」之意。他是一個勢力強大且凶狠的統治者，他曾經擊敗七十個王，並砍去他們手腳的大拇指。在古代希臘和近東的戰役裡都有類似的習俗，就是砍去戰俘的大拇指，讓他不能再拿劍執矛，卻可以划船。但是亞多尼比色卻故意屈辱他的戰俘，讓他們在他的桌下拾取零碎食物，苟延殘喘以度餘生。因此，他覺他所受的懲罰是個報應。

至於我和我家

2021-05-03 in , /by

〈約書亞記〉 24:15 b   至於我和我家，我們必定侍奉耶和華。

閱讀經文：〈約書亞記〉 24:1-33

我以前不大明白，為何神的僕人從舊約的摩西到新約的司提反，等等，都要一再地提到神呼召亞伯蘭，以及帶領色列人出埃及的過程。直到有一次我跟一些年輕人相處時，才發現原來追本溯源十分重要。那些年輕人的父母大多白手起家，年輕時創業維艱，又要照顧家庭，很不容易。但是他們的兒女長大之後，只會拚命享用父母的錢，覺得那是天經地意的事情。他們以為白白得來是他們的權利，絲毫不感激父母的付出和辛勞，反而動不動就埋怨，跟父母頂嘴，根本沒有動力去工作和建立自己的人生。

但是當我想到猶太人在過年過節時，在享用盛宴之先，總有一位長者把他們跟神的關係，也就是神呼召亞伯蘭，以及神帶領以色列人出埃及入迦南的事蹟述說一遍，感謝神之後再享用晚餐。這樣的習俗不僅使猶太人永遠記得他們是神的子民，也使他們不管落在怎樣的光景中都有盼望，相信神必拯救他們。因此他們也可以把殷勤工作的習慣和祖業一代代地傳下去。年輕人需要知道父母和祖輩的歷史，好讓他們知道一切都是經過前人的努力和神的恩典，才有他們今天的享福；也幫助他們能豎立自己的目標和展望，好好地去奔走前面的道路，為他們的下一代努力。

我想，這就是家庭祭壇的意義。不要只給孩子金錢和物質，更要給他們傳承，讓他們能夠感受到生命的意義。因此約書亞對以色列人宣告，不管別人的選擇如何，約書亞則已經決定：「至於我和我家，我們必定侍奉耶和華」。約書亞有這樣的看見，他是他們家族的領袖，他已經決定，侍奉耶和華便是他和他家的目標，定命之所在。這樣的決定也激勵了其他以色列人，相繼回應也要侍奉耶和華，認耶和華是他們的神。

The Ones Who Come After

2021-05-03 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 10:1-32.  Let’s go!

Genesis 10:1-5 (NIV)
1  This is the account of Shem, Ham and Japheth, Noah’s sons, who themselves had sons after the flood.
2  The sons of Japheth: Gomer, Magog, Madai, Javan, Tubal, Meshech and Tiras.
3  The sons of Gomer: Ashkenaz, Riphath and Togarmah.
4  The sons of Javan: Elishah, Tarshish, the Kittim and the Rodanim.
5  (From these the maritime peoples spread out into their territories by their clans within their nations, each with its own language.)

On verses 1-5:  Here the author of Genesis lists the descendants of Noah, starting with the descendants of Noah’s second son Japheth (v2-5).  There is a reason why the author of Genesis starts with the second son.  It’s because the descendants of Noah’s oldest son Shem would be highlighted last to lead into the story of Shem’s most famous descendants: Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, Moses and of course Jesus Christ.  The fact that the various peoples that emerged from Japheth’s line each had their own language (v5) suggests that God loves a variety of languages and cultures.  God is a God who enjoys ethnic and cultural diversity.  We will see this all the more in chapter 11.  That is why in Revelation heaven is described as a kingdom of people from every nation.  This also sets us up for a tragedy we will read about in Genesis 11.

Cover Him Up!

2021-05-02 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 9:18-29.  Let’s go!

Genesis 9:18-21 (NIV)
18  The sons of Noah who came out of the ark were Shem, Ham and Japheth. (Ham was the father of Canaan.)
19  These were the three sons of Noah, and from them came the people who were scattered over the earth.
20  Noah, a man of the soil, proceeded to plant a vineyard.
21  When he drank some of its wine, he became drunk and lay uncovered inside his tent.

On verse 21:  Noah gets drunk and passes out naked inside his tent, apparently in a way that others could see him from the outside.  Keep in mind that during Noah’s time nakedness was associated with shame.  This was an embarrassing moment for Noah.  It’s also proof that while Noah may have been found righteous in his generation compared to the people of his time (Genesis 6:9 and Genesis 7:1), Noah wasn’t perfect and needed the covering and protection of God and others.  In fact, the covering that Noah’s sons Shem and Japheth give Noah foreshadows the covering that Jesus would humbly give us by dying on the cross for our sins.  Jesus covers our shame with the garment of His righteousness and love.

約書亞之遺命

2021-05-02 in , /by

〈約書亞記〉 23:10 你們一人必追趕千人，因耶和華你們的神照他所應許的，為你們爭戰。

閱讀經文：〈約書亞記〉 23:1-16 

人的肉體總有一老和一死，但是像摩西和約書亞這樣，可以做完神託咐的工作，安然去見主，是何等有福啊！人老了，身體逐漸衰落，便知道神給自己在世上的時間已經快要結束了。人生有限，神給每個人在世上的日子都是可以數算的，因此我們當求神給我們智慧的心去過世上的歲月。

當約書亞年紀老邁，便召集眾人做最後的交代時，他講了一件很重要的事：「那為你們爭戰的是耶和華你們的神」，這位神不只是要帶領約書亞，也將帶領以色列人面對將來的戰事，只要他們願意好好跟隨祂。約書亞不是說他自己很厲害，而是說這位神才是帶領爭戰的，所以不要因為他的離開而難過；因為每一個人都可以被取代，唯有神不能被取代。

假如以色列人記得為他們爭戰的是耶和華，他們就不會因為約書亞的離去而喪志，因為神仍然與他們同在。在家父被主接去的那年，我覺得自己的力氣也彷彿消失了。但是聖靈讓我回想家父得救的見證，以及他引導我們一家歸向主的過程，我發現自己的心力又慢慢回來，我的靈也再次被喚醒，那引導我父親的，也必繼續引領我們前面的道路。我們是有限的，但耶和華神是無限的。

約書亞完成的功業，一是剪除在迦南地的外邦大族，二是使以色列各支派得到分地，可以進駐迦南。但是有一些地方上的異族人還是不肯離開。因此約書亞提醒他們：「耶和華你們的神必將他們從你們面前趕出去，使他們離開你們」，這是一個應許。

A Covenant Making God

2021-04-30 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 9:1-17.  Let’s go!

Genesis 9:1-4 (NIV)
1  Then God blessed Noah and his sons, saying to them, “Be fruitful and increase in number and fill the earth.
2  The fear and dread of you will fall upon all the beasts of the earth and all the birds of the air, upon every creature that moves along the ground, and upon all the fish of the sea; they are given into your hands.
3  Everything that lives and moves will be food for you. Just as I gave you the green plants, I now give you everything.
4  “But you must not eat meat that has its lifeblood still in it.

On verses 1-4:  In verse 1 God gives Noah and his sons a near identical commission to the one God gave Adam in Genesis 1:28: “Be fruitful, increase in number, fill the earth”.  God also gave humans authority over the entire animal kingdom (“they are given in your hands” – v2b).  Meat is now explicitly okay to eat in addition to vegetables (v3), although God demands that special respect be paid to the lifeblood of the animal.

第一封信：給以弗所(下)

2021-04-30 in , /by

你是活的基督徒，還是死的基督徒？

　　教會的行為是很重要的，「你們要將你們的好行為行在世人面前，叫他們看見你們的好行為，便將榮耀歸給你們在天上的父」（參：太5:16，彼前2:12），這是有行為的教會，這是有生活見證的教會，也是上帝稱讚以弗所教會的第一件事情，「我知道你的行為」。上帝評定你的靈性，不是看你聽過些什麼、知道些什麼、相信些什麼，而是要你把所信的行出來。你把所信的行出來，你就是活的基督徒，你不能把你所信的活出來，你就是死的基督徒。我們今天是活的基督徒，或者是死的基督徒？雅各書告訴我們，沒有行為的信心是死的（參：雅2:17、20、26）。教會是永生上帝的家。如果一個教會有很多死的基督徒的話，這教會就沒有資格傳講永生的信息，因為我們的生活不是彰顯永生的香氣，而是彰顯死亡的臭味，羞辱主名。

會好壞的試金石——行為、勞碌、忍耐、抵擋罪惡

　　耶穌基督對以弗所教會的第二個稱讚，「我知道你的勞苦」，他們為了主的工作獻上的體力、勞苦，為了主的工作所做的一切犧牲，主都記得。「我知道你的行為，知道你的勞苦，也知道你的忍耐」，這三件事，一件比一件更困難，把所信的真理行出來，是不容易的，為所信的勞勞碌碌地活下去，是困難的，用忍耐的生活為所信的堅持下去，是更困難的，「主說，我知道你的行為、勞碌與忍耐，也知道你不能容忍惡人」，以弗所的立場堅定，並且抗拒罪惡，為信仰付出更大的代價。一個教會若有這幾樣是太偉大了，因為這就是靈性真正的表現。

　　勇於抵擋罪惡的教會是不與社會同流合污的。現今的美國已經非常敗壞，連做人最基本的道理都丟棄了，性行為混亂到一個的地步，男女不分，不倫不類。一九七五年有一美國雜誌刊載一個消息：「有一名生物學家養了兩隻猩猩，有一天他嘗試與猩猩發生性關係，想不到猩猩無論如何不要跟他發生性關係，這生物學家很驚奇，因此記錄了這項研究。」有些動物接受人與牠性交，像狗、豬，但猩猩沒有。那時我才三十多歲，看了這篇文章，我知道上帝的創造是有規律、有規矩的、有限制的，人不可以隨便改變，但美國現在已經敗壞到一個地步，不像一個人的社會。

The Power of a Sacrifice

2021-04-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Genesis 8:13-22.  Let’s go!

Genesis 8:13-20 (NIV)
13  By the first day of the first month of Noah’s six hundred and first year, the water had dried up from the earth. Noah then removed the covering from the ark and saw that the surface of the ground was dry.
14  By the twenty-seventh day of the second month the earth was completely dry.
15  Then God said to Noah,
16  “Come out of the ark, you and your wife and your sons and their wives.
17  Bring out every kind of living creature that is with you–the birds, the animals, and all the creatures that move along the ground–so they can multiply on the earth and be fruitful and increase in number upon it.”……

On verse 20:  Notice that Noah’s first major action after coming out of the ark with his family unscathed was to build an altar to the Lord and sacrifice burnt offerings on it.   What can we learn from this?  When God preserves you and protects you from a terrible ordeal, when He provides greatly for you, the thing to do – the first thing – is to give God a sacrifice of worship and praise.  Realize that whatever you give God is little compared to what God has given to you.