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The Price of Peace

2020-10-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 12:49-59.  Let’s go!

Luke 12:49 (NIV) 
49  “I have come to bring fire on the earth, and how I wish it were already kindled!

On verse 49:  What fire did Jesus come to bring?  Some scholars think the “fire” here refers to Jesus judging the world one day.  Others think that this fire refers to the Holy Spirit whom God the Father would send upon the church later in Acts 2.  Perhaps it’s both.  In any event, in order for that “fire” to happen, Jesus would first have to go through a “baptism”, described in the next verse.

Luke 12:50 (NIV) 
50  But I have a baptism to undergo, and how distressed I am until it is completed!

On verse 50:  Jesus was baptized in Luke 3, so what other “baptism” would Jesus still need to undergo?  The baptism Jesus is referring to here is his coming suffering and death on the cross.  Here we see the humanity of Jesus and “how distressed” he is as he awaits the time of his betrayal, crucifixion and death.  I appreciate how real and transparent Jesus is as a leader about his feelings and his struggles.

利百加和以撒

2020-09-30 in /by

創世記 24章63-67節     天將晚，以撒出來在田間默想，舉目一看，見來了些駱駝。利百加舉目看見以撒，就急忙下了駱駝，問那僕人說：「這田間走來迎接我們的是誰？」僕人說：「是我的主人。」利百加就拿帕子蒙上臉。僕人就將所辦的一切事都告訴以撒。以撒便領利百加進了他母親撒拉的帳篷，娶了她為妻，並且愛她。以撒自從他母親不在了，這才得了安慰。

在夏天炎炎的大太陽底下，思想亞伯拉罕的老僕人，風塵僕僕地趕到美索不達米亞，毫無線索，不知如何去找到亞伯拉罕的本家本族，不禁令人替他擔心。萬一他找回去的新娘和以撒合不來，那又怎麼辦呢？

亞伯拉罕的條件很簡單：「你要往我本地本族去，為我的兒子以撒娶一個妻子」。沒有說要長多高，要胖的還是瘦的，也沒有要他去探聽女子的性情如何，會不會煮飯縫衣，會不會擠牛奶或羊奶？只要是他本地本族的一個女子就行。比巴西世界杯還容易，巴西世界杯有人找烏龜，有人找章魚去神算哪國會贏。結果巴西的大頭神龜算錯了，巴西沒贏，德國隊贏。

中國騰訊《競彩世界杯》節目裡，竟有嘉賓解惑：「如果我們知道哪邊會贏球，我們就不需要桂孟孟了，我們需要桂孟孟的判斷來引導我們的思路。」桂孟孟是節目主持人桂斌老師的巴西龜，據說測中了很多次，可惜究竟還是龜。若是我們要龜來引導思路，後悔的機會就多了。想提前知道誰會贏球要靠龜測，可惜多有不中。那麼，想要知道將來的路要怎樣走，要跟誰結婚，要靠誰才能測對呢？

亞伯拉罕把找媳婦的事押在耶和華神的帶領上，他押中了。大衛鮑森牧師說：「在《聖經》中每四節經文，就有一節是在預言未來，而《聖經》裡面一共有735件說到未來將發生的事件，已經有596件事確實發生了，也就是超過八成都已經實現。還沒實現的預言，大多跟末日有關。《聖經》上的預言，既然已經應驗了八成，那麼，另外兩成應該也會應驗，尤其是關於歷史和世界末日的事件，因此，我們可以說，到目前為止，《聖經》預言，是百分之百正確的。」所以相信神的帶領還是比較可靠。

Ready and Waiting

2020-09-30 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 12:35-48.  Let’s go!

On verses 35-48:  Here Jesus shares a parable (or what some may consider to be two parables) about the kind of servant that pleases God.  How do we apply these parables from Jesus to our lives?  Here are four ways we can do so:

1. See yourself as a servant of God.  Until Jesus comes again you want to have the mindset that “God does not exist to serve me.  I exist to serve God.”  No matter what your current occupation is or what season of life you may be in, think of yourself as serving God when you carry out your responsibilities.  As the apostle Paul would say, carry out your daily responsibilities “as working for the Lord, not for men” (Colossians 3:23).  See yourself as a trustee of the time, the talents, and the resources that God has entrusted to you, knowing that one day you will be accountable to God for what you did with what He gave you (v48).

2. Give your best when you work.  Whether you’re serving at church, or serving at home, or serving at school or work, be known as someone who gives their best.  Don’t be a mediocre servant who gives half-hearted, half-baked service.  Others and God can smell a mediocre effort from far and away whether or not they call you on it. As Colossians 3:23 says, “Whatever you do, work at it with all your heart”.

麥比拉洞

2020-09-29 in /by

創世記 23章19-20節   此後，亞伯拉罕把他妻子撒拉埋葬在迦南地幔利前的麥比拉田間的洞裡，幔利就是希伯崙。從此，那塊田和田間的洞，就藉著赫人定準歸於亞伯拉罕做墳地。

在撒拉出生時，她的父親他拉給她取名「撒萊」，意思就是「我的公主」。相信在許多父親的心中，女兒便是他心中的公主，從小疼愛、呵護著長大的。撒萊跟同父異母的哥哥亞伯蘭結婚，在當時是很平常的事，即使是現在，在阿拉伯人當中堂兄妹結婚也很正常。但是，是否近親結婚的原因，以致撒萊遲遲不育？

不能生育，等於是當時女人最大的失敗。雖然耶和華神應許亞伯蘭的後裔將如星星和海沙那麼多，可是，是經由她嗎？一個不能生育的女人？撒萊以為那應許是給亞伯蘭的，跟她沒有關係；卻沒想到在〈創世記〉時，神就說過男人要離開父母，與妻子聯合成為一體(創2:24)，一體就是同命的，自然領受同樣的應許。

3 Reasons You Don’t Need to Worry

2020-09-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 12:22-34.  Let’s go!

Luke 12:22-23 (NIV) 
22  Then Jesus said to his disciples: “Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat; or about your body, what you will wear. 
23  Life is more than food, and the body more than clothes.

On verses 22-23:  God gave us life not just so that we could eat.  God gave us a body not just so that we fret about clothing it.  God gave you life and a body so that you would live for a purpose that is much greater than material things alone, that you would know God and have a loving relationship with Him that spills over into the way you live life and love people.

你愛我嗎？

2020-09-28 in /by

創世記 22章16-18節    耶和華說：『你既行了這事，不留下你的兒子，就是你獨生的兒子，我便指著自己起誓說：論福，我必賜大福給你；論子孫，我必叫你的子孫多起來，如同天上的星，海邊的沙；你子孫必得著仇敵的城門；並且地上萬國都必因你的後裔得福，因為你聽從了我的話。』

神要試驗亞伯拉罕，便叫亞伯拉罕帶著以撒到摩利亞山上，把他獻為燔祭。燔祭的意思便是全然獻上，要把祭牲殺了，放到柴上，全部燒在祭壇上，只留下一堆灰燼的祭(利1:3-9)。

在亞伯拉罕住的迦南地，便有獻嬰的習俗。為了向天上的神明求助，獻祭者要獻上自己最重要的倚靠，也就是長子，因為長子是人老了以後的倚靠，表明他單單信賴神明。因為在他們的看法裡，兒子是神明所賜，所以神明有權取回。考古學家在巴勒斯坦一帶挖掘，在異教神壇附近的墓地發現大量新生嬰兒的骸骨和骨灰，可見以兒童為祭這種殘酷的宗教儀式十分普遍。可能因為受到當地習俗的影響，因此亞伯拉罕對神的這要求，並沒有作出任何抗議。

〈希伯來書〉11章記載：「亞伯拉罕因著信，被試驗的時候，就把以撒獻上；這便是那歡喜領受應許的，將自己的獨生的兒子獻上。論到這兒子，曾有話說：『從以撒生的才要稱為你的後裔。』他以為神還能叫人從死裡復活，他也彷彿從死中得回他的兒子來。」

Don’t Waste Your Breath

2020-09-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 12:13-21.  Let’s go!

Luke 12:13-14 (NIV) 
13  Someone in the crowd said to him, “Teacher, tell my brother to divide the inheritance with me.” 
14  Jesus replied, “Man, who appointed me a judge or an arbiter between you?”

On verses 13-14:  Though this man in the crowd called Jesus “Teacher” in verse 13, the way he makes this demand of Jesus in verse 14 suggests that this man was not that serious about following Jesus or his teachings (such as what Jesus says in Luke 6:30) and simply wanted to use Jesus to get money.

What can we learn from this?   When we have the right perspective on money, we will use money and love people. But when we have the wrong perspective on money, we will use people and love money.

Integrity Revisited

2020-09-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

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

Luke 12:1 (NIV)
1 Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy.

On verse 1: Why did Jesus make a point to privately warn his disciples about hypocrisy while a crowd of many thousands had gathered to see Jesus? I think it’s because when your influence grows and when more and more people are looking at you, your potential to encourage people with your good example or confuse people with your bad example grows as well. Like “yeast”, a hypocritical example can spread from one influential person to those around that person, as what had happened with the Pharisees. We need to remember that, whether we asked for it or not, there are people who look to us as an example, and thus we have a responsibility to set the best example we can.

耶和華豈有難成的事嗎？

2020-09-27 in /by

創世記21章6-7節     撒拉說：「神使我喜笑，凡聽見的必與我一同喜笑。」又說：「誰能預先對亞伯拉罕說撒拉要乳養嬰孩呢？因為在他年老的時候，我給他生了一個兒子。」

神跟亞伯拉罕預言了他必有後裔至少有六次，從大約75歲到100歲，這預言終於應驗了。亞伯拉罕和撒拉等了足足25年。我有朋友為信佛的父母禱告，有的長達30幾年，當然還有更長的。在每一個禱告應驗時，這句話總會不期然地躍上腦海：「耶和華豈有難成的事嗎？」

我記得小時候，父親跟我訂了《少年良友雜誌》，那時我非常仰慕滌然師母，非常喜歡讀她的文章。那時她住在美國紐約，我住在台灣台南，我心想什麼時候才有可能飛到紐約去看她呢？後來我自己都忘記了這個念頭。直到我真的住到紐約，參加了滌然師母和她丈夫史祈生牧師主辦的中宣會後。有一天，聖靈讓我想起我曾經有這樣的想法。那時我真的感動得不得了，神竟然如此無微不至，連一個小女孩的心願，祂都記念。我們在紐約的四年，正好是史祈生牧師伉儷在中宣會的最後四年，後來他們退休，我們也離開紐約，回到加拿大。神的時間是如此地精準。

保羅說：「神的應許不論有多少，在基督都是是的，所以藉著祂也都是實在的」，我們這些在基督裡的人何等有福。

Integrity Revisited

2020-09-27 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

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

Luke 12:1 (NIV) 
1  Meanwhile, when a crowd of many thousands had gathered, so that they were trampling on one another, Jesus began to speak first to his disciples, saying: “Be on your guard against the yeast of the Pharisees, which is hypocrisy. 

On verse 1:  Why did Jesus make a point to privately warn his disciples about hypocrisy while a crowd of many thousands had gathered to see Jesus?  I think it’s because when your influence grows and when more and more people are looking at you, your potential to encourage people with your good example or confuse people with your bad example grows as well.  Like “yeast”, a hypocritical example can spread from one influential person to those around that person, as what had happened with the Pharisees.  We need to remember that, whether we asked for it or not, there are people who look to us as an example, and thus we have a responsibility to set the best example we can.