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從未來的觀點看

2020-09-25 in /by

約翰福音16章33節  我已經勝了世界。

有個名叫喬．貝里（Joe Bayly）的智者曾經這樣說：「可能有時身處黑暗，但不要忘記你在光明中所學到的東西。」可是有時候，黑暗來得又快又猛，讓我們幾乎要忘記了什麼是光明。毫無疑問，這就是耶穌門徒的經歷。

耶穌曾在最後的晚餐這樣聲明過：「在世上，你們有苦難；但你們可以放心，我已經勝了世界。」（約十六33）在那一刻，十二個門徒中，有十一個人，都甘心樂意要為祂捨命，西門．彼得甚至在當天稍晚的時候，拔劍想要保護耶穌。

但是到了第二天，所有十一個門徒全都失去信心。當他們待在相對安全的距離外面，觀看著耶穌被釘十字架，前一天晚上祂那彷彿得勝的宣告，必定困擾著他們。現在看來，世界好像反而勝過了神。在黑暗中，門徒們全都溜走，彼得更發誓說，他從不認識耶穌。

毫無疑問，門徒的問題就在於他們的觀點。儘管過去那對光明的記憶已不復存在，幾天之後，同一群人將會再次遭遇復活節所綻放出來的光芒。就在那一天，門徒明白了，沒有什麼黑暗是大到神無法控制的；他們終於了解，從未來的角度來看現在，到底是什麼意思。因著復活節的盼望，這群膽小的人重新被點燃起來，他們走出去，為要改變世界。

The Kind of Person Jesus Goes After

2020-09-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 11:37-54.  Let’s go!

Luke 11:37-41 (NIV) 
37  When Jesus had finished speaking, a Pharisee invited him to eat with him; so he went in and reclined at the table. 
38  But the Pharisee, noticing that Jesus did not first wash before the meal, was surprised. 
39  Then the Lord said to him, “Now then, you Pharisees clean the outside of the cup and dish, but inside you are full of greed and wickedness. 
40  You foolish people! Did not the one who made the outside make the inside also? 
41  But give what is inside [the dish] to the poor, and everything will be clean for you.

On verses 37-41:  Although washing hands before a meal is a good sanitary practice, Scripture did not require Jews to wash their hands before eating.  So when Jesus went to a Pharisee’s house for a meal and did not wash his hands before eating, he was not sinning against God.  

所多瑪和蛾摩拉的命運

2020-09-24 in /by

創世記18章20-21節     耶和華說：「所多瑪和蛾摩拉的罪惡甚重，聲聞於我。我現在要下去，察看他們所行的，果然盡像那達到我耳中的聲音一樣嗎？若是不然，我也必知道。」

所多瑪和蛾摩拉曾經是土壤肥沃，水草豐美，適宜放牧耕作的地區，吸引羅得不停地往她遷移。這兩城的地名之意是「淹沒」和「廢墟」，似乎說明了她們命運的趨勢。舊約時期，所多瑪、蛾摩拉與押瑪、洗扁、瑣珥合稱為(約但河的)「平原五城」，他們都是挪亞的兒子，含的後裔。就是這五城裡的五王組成聯盟，反叛米索波大米的四王，後來兵敗，被亞伯拉罕救回。根據考古研究，該處確有五座早青銅時代的古城。

〈創世記〉18章裡，亞伯拉罕看見有三個人，他就跑去迎接他們，不料卻接待了神和祂的使者。這個典故成為以色列人接待陌生人的原由。神和使者(有沒有可能，是三位一體的神，就如此三位一起向亞伯拉罕顯現？)來拜訪亞伯拉罕的原因，是為了讓撒拉知道，她明年必生下一子。

這次輪到撒拉偷笑了，「我既已衰敗，我主也老邁，豈能有這喜事呢？」這時神說了一句最經典的話：「耶和華豈有難成的事嗎？」神對自己的能力有十足的把握，反而是人因為自己的能力有限，所以常常信心不足，懷疑神。

神要做事之前，不僅跟亞伯拉罕說，也要撒拉確實知道。神會讓我們明白祂的呼召，因為祂要我們行在祂的計劃裡。因此，祂忍不住要把滅所多瑪和蛾摩拉一事跟亞伯拉罕說，因為亞伯拉罕是神的朋友。在《聖經》裡有三個地方都提到亞伯拉罕是神的朋友：

What’s Your Life Vision?

2020-09-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 11:27-36.  Let’s go!

Luke 11:27-32 (NIV) 
27  As Jesus was saying these things, a woman in the crowd called out, “Blessed is the mother who gave you birth and nursed you.” 
28  He replied, “Blessed rather are those who hear the word of God and obey it.” 
29  As the crowds increased, Jesus said, “This is a wicked generation. It asks for a miraculous sign, but none will be given it except the sign of Jonah. 
30  For as Jonah was a sign to the Ninevites, so also will the Son of Man be to this generation. 
31  The Queen of the South will rise at the judgment with the men of this generation and condemn them; for she came from the ends of the earth to listen to Solomon’s wisdom, and now one greater than Solomon is here. 
32  The men of Nineveh will stand up at the judgment with this generation and condemn it; for they repented at the preaching of Jonah, and now one greater than Jonah is here.

On verses 27-32:  There are a number of important lessons we can learn from this passage.  I look forward to sharing them with you  today.

肉體上的約—割禮

2020-09-23 in /by

創世記17章9-11節      神又對亞伯拉罕說：「你和你的後裔，必世世代代遵守我的約。 你們所有的男子都要受割禮，這就是我與你並你的後裔所立的約，是你們所當遵守的。你們都要受割禮，這是我與你們立約的證據。」

夏甲生以實瑪利時，亞伯蘭年86歲。當亞伯蘭99歲時，神才再度向他顯現。這當中，神靜默了13-14年，亞伯蘭會不會奇怪，為什麼神不來找他了？或是沉浸在以實瑪利成長的喜悅裡，而忽略了神沒有來向他賀喜的怪異？假如娶妾是神要給亞伯蘭子嗣的方法，那麼神豈不應當高興嗎？看來，人和神的想法是不一樣的。當我們不行在神的心意中時，我們也會碰到這樣的「靜默」，聖靈不強迫我們，但是我們會知道神並沒有與我們「同行」了。

但是神究竟還是又來找亞伯蘭了，正如祂不斷地饒恕我們的過犯，用慈繩愛索引領我們回歸。所以保羅說：「不要叫神的聖靈擔憂，你們原是受了祂的印記，等候得贖的日子來到。(弗4:30)」當我們遠離聖靈的帶領時，神在我們身上的計劃就被躭延了，神的計劃一定會完成，但我們若不順服，就無法成為神計劃中的一部分，因而失去了神預備給我們的福份。

神對亞伯蘭說：「我是全能的神，你當在我面前做完全人。我就與你立約，使你的後裔極其繁多。」神提醒亞伯拉罕，祂是全能的神，不需要亞伯拉罕自作聰明，搞亂神的計劃。因為亞伯蘭自作聰明，在神面前變得不完全了，他用人的方法要完成神的應許。但神是如此愛亞伯蘭，祂終於把自己的計劃向亞伯蘭全盤托出：亞伯蘭要改名為亞伯拉罕，因為神立他做多國之父。這個亞伯蘭還是以為要藉著以實瑪利而出，所以一點問題也沒有。多國之父在此時看來己經應驗，因為從以實瑪利的後裔所建立的阿拉伯國家或伊斯蘭教國家，都還是自認為亞伯拉罕的後裔。

Time to Go On the Offensive

2020-09-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 11:14-26.  Let’s go!

Luke 11:14-20 (NIV) 
14  Jesus was driving out a demon that was mute. When the demon left, the man who had been mute spoke, and the crowd was amazed. 
15  But some of them said, “By Beelzebub, the prince of demons, he is driving out demons.” 
16  Others tested him by asking for a sign from heaven. 
17  Jesus knew their thoughts and said to them: “Any kingdom divided against itself will be ruined, and a house divided against itself will fall. 
18  If Satan is divided against himself, how can his kingdom stand? I say this because you claim that I drive out demons by Beelzebub. 
19  Now if I drive out demons by Beelzebub, by whom do your followers drive them out? So then, they will be your judges. 
20  But if I drive out demons by the finger of God, then the kingdom of God has come to you.

On verses 14-20:  Jesus’ critics argued that because “ordinary” evil spirits listened to Jesus’ commands, Jesus must be controlled and empowered by an even greater evil spirit.  Jesus counters this by saying that Satan’s kingdom would not have such power and influence in this world if Satan’s kingdom was divided.  Rather, when Jesus drives out demons, it’s the kingdom of God advancing against Satan’s kingdom.

庇耳．拉海．萊

2020-09-22 in /by

創世記16章13節     夏甲就稱那對她說話的耶和華為「看顧人的神」，因而說：「在這裡我也看見那看顧我的嗎？」

剛剛經歷了神和他立血約的亞伯蘭，此時很相信神必賜他子嗣。但是妻子撒萊己經年邁，月經也不來了，他的希望在哪裡？他的子嗣從何而來？這是一個人沒有辦法解開的局面。這時，撒萊自作聰明，向他提了一個建議。

這個建議是當時的人的做法，妻子若生不出孩子，丈夫就再娶個妾，問題就解決了。撒萊可能也覺得不孕是自己的問題，因為她和亞伯蘭是同父異母的兄妹，血緣太近，可能影響生育，所以找別的女人試試看。她身邊正好有個埃及來的婢女，年輕可為，她便聳恿亞伯蘭和她的婢女夏甲同床。因為：「耶和華使我不能生育，求你和我的使女同房，或者我可以因她得孩子。」

神都不給我生育了，祂又應許你有子嗣，那我們總要想辦法啊，天助自助者，不是嗎？

亞伯蘭就答應了。

當我們看不到出路，神的供應和應許都遲遲不見時，我們往往會自己想辦法，設法幫神一把。

夏甲果然懷孕了。

正當大家都很高興計劃成功時，夏甲的態度卻來個一百八十度的轉變，開始輕視撒萊，不聽她的話了。夏甲可能想著自己有了兒子，亞伯蘭就可以把她扶正了，因為她是他兒子的母親。母以子為貴啊! 那個不生蛋的母雞，怎麼可以佔著位置不走呢？

How to Pray

2020-09-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 11:1-13.  Let’s go!

Luke 11:1-4 (NIV) 
1  One day Jesus was praying in a certain place. When he finished, one of his disciples said to him, “Lord, teach us to pray, just as John taught his disciples.”
2  He said to them, “When you pray, say: “‘Father, hallowed be your name, your kingdom come.
3  Give us each day our daily bread.
4  Forgive us our sins, for we also forgive everyone who sins against us. And lead us not into temptation.'”

On verses 1-4:  Notice that when Jesus teaches his disciples to pray, Jesus gives them an actual real time example of how to pray.  (It’s a reminder that the best teachers lead by example and show you with their life what they’re teaching.)  This prayer recorded in verses 2-4, known as the Lord’s Prayer, is the most famous and most commonly recited prayer in history.  There is certainly benefit in memorizing this prayer and reciting it as your own prayer.  But in addition, I believe the Lord’s prayer was not simply meant for us to recite word for word; even more, there are lessons and principles about prayer that we can learn from the Lord’s Prayer, including the following:

神與亞伯蘭立血約

2020-09-21 in /by

創世記15章6節    亞伯蘭信耶和華，耶和華就以此為他的義。

亞伯蘭擊敗四王後，回到迦南地。當衝動過去，一切都安靜下來後，他開始害怕了。四王會不會回頭再來攻打他們，亞伯蘭在夜靜人深時，心裡升起了絲絲寒意，要不要逃？沒有想到，耶和華在異象中對亞伯蘭說：「亞伯蘭，你不要懼怕！我是你的盾牌，必大大地賞賜你。」

何等的安[慰，神要做亞伯蘭的盾牌，而且要大大賞賜他。因為亞伯蘭拒絕了所多瑪王的賞賜，為的是免得所多瑪王說是他使亞伯蘭富足的。因為亞伯蘭認定他的富足來自於神，任何人都不能誇耀他使亞伯蘭富足，所以神就親自賞賜亞伯蘭，他就可以說是神使我富足。你的富足來自誰呢？是誰使你富足？你倚靠誰得以富足？

亞伯蘭反問神，祢說要給我子嗣，在哪裡？我都老得快死了，得立遺囑把產業留給老僕人以利以謝，祢的應許為何還沒應驗？

亞伯蘭本來要睡覺了，神卻叫他起床，到外面走一走。給他看天上的星星。沒有路燈的希伯崙，滿天星星何等美麗。這時神對他說：「你向天觀看，數算眾星，能數得過來嗎？」又對他說：「你的後裔將要如此。」

亞伯蘭信耶和華，耶和華就以此為他的義。亞伯蘭有疑問就問，神回答他，他就相信。我們要學亞伯蘭，不要把疑放在肚裡任其爛掉，影響我們對神的信心。神很願意回答我們，為我們解惑。

然後，為了取得亞伯蘭相信他的後裔必取得迦南地為業，神叫他去取一隻三年的母牛，一隻三年的母山羊，一隻三年的公綿羊，一隻斑鳩，一隻雛鴿。每樣劈開分成兩半，一半對著一半地擺列，只有鳥沒有劈開。這是何意呢？

Jesus Your Good Samaritan

2020-09-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 10:30-42.  Let’s go!

Luke 10:30-33 (NIV) 
30  In reply Jesus said: “A man was going down from Jerusalem to Jericho, when he fell into the hands of robbers. They stripped him of his clothes, beat him and went away, leaving him half dead. 
31  A priest happened to be going down the same road, and when he saw the man, he passed by on the other side. 
32  So too, a Levite, when he came to the place and saw him, passed by on the other side. 
33  But a Samaritan, as he traveled, came where the man was; and when he saw him, he took pity on him.

On verses 30-33:  In reply to the teacher’s question in verse 29, “Who is my neighbour [that I should love him as I love myself]?” Jesus tells one of his most famous stories: the parable (short story) of the good Samaritan.  Keep in mind that Jesus is telling this story to an audience mostly of Jews at a time when racial tensions between Jews and Samaritans were high.  The fact that Jesus makes the Samaritan the hero of this story would have come as a shock to many Jews listening, challenging them to rethink their views on Samaritans and suggesting that the kingdom of God is not just for Jews but for people of all nations.