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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

创世记 24章63-67节     天将晚，以撒出来在田间默想，举目一看，见来了些骆驼。利百加举目看见以撒，就急忙下了骆驼，问那仆人说：「这田间走来迎接我们的是谁？」仆人说：「是我的主人。」利百加就拿帕子蒙上脸。仆人就将所办的一切事都告诉以撒。以撒便领利百加进了他母亲撒拉的帐篷，娶了她为妻，并且爱她。以撒自从他母亲不在了，这才得了安慰。

在夏天炎炎的大太阳底下，思想亚伯拉罕的老仆人，风尘仆仆地赶到美索不达米亚，毫无线索，不知如何去找到亚伯拉罕的本家本族，不禁令人替他担心。万一他找回去的新娘和以撒合不来，那又怎么办呢？

亚伯拉罕的条件很简单：「你要往我本地本族去，为我的儿子以撒娶一个妻子」。没有说要长多高，要胖的还是瘦的，也没有要他去探听女子的性情如何，会不会煮饭缝衣，会不会挤牛奶或羊奶？只要是他本地本族的一个女子就行。比巴西世界杯还容易，巴西世界杯有人找乌龟，有人找章鱼去神算哪国会赢。结果巴西的大头神龟算错了，巴西没赢，德国队赢。

中国腾讯《竞彩世界杯》节目里，竟有嘉宾解惑：「如果我们知道哪边会赢球，我们就不需要桂孟孟了，我们需要桂孟孟的判断来引导我们的思路。」桂孟孟是节目主持人桂斌老师的巴西龟，据说测中了很多次，可惜究竟还是龟。若是我们要龟来引导思路，后悔的机会就多了。想提前知道谁会赢球要靠龟测，可惜多有不中。那么，想要知道将来的路要怎样走，要跟谁结婚，要靠谁才能测对呢？

亚伯拉罕把找媳妇的事押在耶和华神的带领上，他押中了。大卫鲍森牧师说：「在《圣经》中每四节经文，就有一节是在预言未来，而《圣经》里面一共有735件说到未来将发生的事件，已经有596件事确实发生了，也就是超过八成都已经实现。还没实现的预言，大多跟末日有关。《圣经》上的预言，既然已经应验了八成，那么，另外两成应该也会应验，尤其是关于历史和世界末日的事件，因此，我们可以说，到目前为止，《圣经》预言，是百分之百正确的。」所以相信神的带领还是比较可靠。

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”.

麦比拉洞

2020-09-29 in /by

创世记 23章19-20节   此后，亚伯拉罕把他妻子撒拉埋葬在迦南地幔利前的麦比拉田间的洞里，幔利就是希伯仑。从此，那块田和田间的洞，就借着赫人定准归于亚伯拉罕做坟地。

在撒拉出生时，她的父亲他拉给她取名「撒莱」，意思就是「我的公主」。相信在许多父亲的心中，女儿便是他心中的公主，从小疼爱、呵护着长大的。撒莱跟同父异母的哥哥亚伯兰结婚，在当时是很平常的事，即使是现在，在阿拉伯人当中堂兄妹结婚也很正常。但是，是否近亲结婚的原因，以致撒莱迟迟不育？

不能生育，等于是当时女人最大的失败。虽然耶和华神应许亚伯兰的后裔将如星星和海沙那么多，可是，是经由她吗？一个不能生育的女人？撒莱以为那应许是给亚伯兰的，跟她没有关系；却没想到在〈创世记〉时，神就说过男人要离开父母，与妻子联合成为一体(创2:24)，一体就是同命的，自然领受同样的应许。

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.

你爱我吗？

2020-09-28 in /by

创世记 22章16-18节    耶和华说：『你既行了这事，不留下你的儿子，就是你独生的儿子，我便指著自己起誓说：论福，我必赐大福给你；论子孙，我必叫你的子孙多起来，如同天上的星，海边的沙；你子孙必得着仇敌的城门；并且地上万国都必因你的后裔得福，因为你听从了我的话。』

神要试验亚伯拉罕，便叫亚伯拉罕带着以撒到摩利亚山上，把他献为燔祭。燔祭的意思便是全然献上，要把祭牲杀了，放到柴上，全部烧在祭坛上，只留下一堆灰烬的祭(利1:3-9)。

在亚伯拉罕住的迦南地，便有献婴的习俗。为了向天上的神明求助，献祭者要献上自己最重要的倚靠，也就是长子，因为长子是人老了以后的倚靠，表明他单单信赖神明。因为在他们的看法里，儿子是神明所赐，所以神明有权取回。考古学家在巴勒斯坦一带挖掘，在异教神坛附近的墓地发现大量新生婴儿的骸骨和骨灰，可见以儿童为祭这种残酷的宗教仪式十分普遍。可能因为受到当地习俗的影响，因此亚伯拉罕对神的这要求，并没有作出任何抗议。

〈希伯来书〉11章记载：「亚伯拉罕因着信，被试验的时候，就把以撒献上；这便是那欢喜领受应许的，将自己的独生的儿子献上。论到这儿子，曾有话说：『从以撒生的才要称为你的后裔。』他以为神还能叫人从死里复活，他也仿佛从死中得回他的儿子来。」

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.

耶和华岂有难成的事吗？

2020-09-27 in /by

创世记21章6-7节     撒拉说：「神使我喜笑，凡听见的必与我一同喜笑。」又说：「谁能预先对亚伯拉罕说撒拉要乳养婴孩呢？因为在他年老的时候，我给他生了一个儿子。」

神跟亚伯拉罕预言了他必有后裔至少有六次，从大约75岁到100岁，这预言终于应验了。亚伯拉罕和撒拉等了足足25年。我有朋友为信佛的父母祷告，有的长达30几年，当然还有更长的。在每一个祷告应验时，这句话总会不期然地跃上脑海：「耶和华岂有难成的事吗？」

我记得小时候，父亲跟我订了《少年良友杂志》，那时我非常仰慕涤然师母，非常喜欢读她的文章。那时她住在美国纽约，我住在台湾台南，我心想什么时候才有可能飞到纽约去看她呢？后来我自己都忘记了这个念头。直到我真的住到纽约，参加了涤然师母和她丈夫史祈生牧师主办的中宣会后。有一天，圣灵让我想起我曾经有这样的想法。那时我真的感动得不得了，神竟然如此无微不至，连一个小女孩的心愿，祂都记念。我们在纽约的四年，正好是史祈生牧师伉俪在中宣会的最后四年，后来他们退休，我们也离开纽约，回到加拿大。神的时间是如此地精准。

保罗说：「神的应许不论有多少，在基督都是是的，所以借着祂也都是实在的」，我们这些在基督里的人何等有福。

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.