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實用的禱告原則

2020-08-28 in /by

以弗所書 6 章 18-20 節   靠著聖靈，隨時多方禱告祈求；並要在此儆醒不倦，為眾聖徒祈求，也為我祈求，使我得著口才，能以放膽開口講明福音的奧秘，我為這福音的奧秘作了帶鎖鏈的使者，並使我照著當盡的本分放膽講論。

保羅提到禱告的原則：第一，要靠著聖靈。禱告不只是將心中所願帶到神面前，更重要的是要聆聽聖靈的聲音，讓祂引導我們按照神的心意禱告。來到神面前禱告，我們需要先問，“主啊！你要我為哪些事禱告？”然後聆聽，感覺神要我們為某些事禱告時，問第二個問題，“主啊！你要我怎樣為這件事禱告？”有這樣聆聽的態度，禱告才不會淪為一廂情願的想法。只有在聖靈裡的禱告，才能觸摸父神的心意。

其次，要隨時多方禱告。不只在禱告會禱告，也不只在教會禱告，而是隨時禱告；別人有需要時，立刻為他禱告。在教會常聽有人說，“請你為我這件事情禱告。”我們說“好！”回到家就忘了！倒不如對方提出禱告事項時，就說“我現在為你禱告。”有時打電話，聽見對方說“能不能請你為我這件事情禱告？”我們常在掛電話後就忘了，其實可以在電話里馬上為他禱告。此外要多方禱告，就是用各種方式禱告，不只默禱而已。禱告過程中發現默禱好像不能達到神面前，就要開口禱告；感覺開口禱告不是那麼有功效時，就要宣告式的禱告，甚至禁食禱告、通宵禱告。禱告有各樣方式，不要只局限於默禱。

第三，要在此儆醒不倦。禱告要恆切，聖經教導我們要持續、恆切地禱告，儆醒不倦地禱告，直到神成就祂的心意為止。

Jesus Cares for Your Whole Being

2020-08-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 5:12-26.  Let’s go!

Luke 5:12-14 (NIV) 
12  While Jesus was in one of the towns, a man came along who was covered with leprosy. When he saw Jesus, he fell with his face to the ground and begged him, “Lord, if you are willing, you can make me clean.” 
13  Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man. “I am willing,” he said. “Be clean!” And immediately the leprosy left him. 
14  Then Jesus ordered him, “Don’t tell anyone, but go, show yourself to the priest and offer the sacrifices that Moses commanded for your cleansing, as a testimony to them.”
 
On verses 12-14:  This to me is one of the most beautiful scenes in the Bible.  Here you have a man covered with a skin disease which not only affected him physically but socially as well.  According to the Jewish laws, a person with leprosy was not allowed to live among the people but had to live alone outside the city.  They had to cover their face, leave their hair undone, and walk around with torn clothes yelling “Unclean! Unclean!”

地和海

2020-08-27 in /by

創世記一章10 節    神稱乾地為「地」，稱聚集在一起的水為「海」。神看為好的。

當你讀〈創世記〉第一章時，你會有什麼感覺呢？我總是覺得，神好像在預備迎接新生嬰兒的父母，精心地從嬰兒房開始，一樣樣地把東西放進去。所以，最重要的是光，因為沒有光，什麼都看不見；其次是穹蒼，有人譯為空氣，那也實在是人的需要。神把深淵的大水分開，有了穹蒼，天下面的水聚在一起為「海」；水一退，乾地就露出來，稱為「地」，神看為好的。因為有「地」，人才有落足之處，原來神並不打算讓人用飛的。

神如此向約伯形容當時的情景：「海水衝出，如出胎胞，那時誰將它關閉呢？ 是我用雲彩當海的衣服，用幽暗當包裹它的布，為它定界限，又安門和閂，說：「你只可到這裡，不可越過，你狂傲的浪要到此止住。」（伯38:8-11）。讓我們閉起眼睛，想像自己站在沙灘上，海浪不斷地衝上來淹過你的腳，然後退去，又衝上來，又退去。何等美好的感覺!

當你站在沙灘上回頭一望時，往往不遠處就有樹林。無論是太平洋或是大西洋的海岸邊，都有紅樹林，千百年來默默的矗立在海岸，擔任捍衛陸地的第一道保護線。紅樹林是一些滑稽樹種的組合，世界上約有55種。它們喜歡長在海灘與河口的感潮處，那裡有高度的鹽分和強勁的海風，但是它們能緊密地相互依附，成為海濱最好的防風牆。這只是神在地面上種植的奇妙植物之一種。

當神說：「地要長出植物，就是含種子的五穀菜蔬，和會結果子、果子裏有種子的樹，在地上各從其類。」很少人會想到神的大手筆和想像力之豐富。在溫哥華有座原始森林，有許多人每天去那裡運動。每一次在那裡健行，都會因為樹林之美而深深著迷。從冬季的酷寒裡，逐漸看到冒出新芽的枝葉，紅色的小花也代表夏季漿果的成形；夏季裡路邊的野花瘋狂地蔓長，每天熱情相伴；夏季的紅莓果結束了，黑莓的花就開了，

Faith is Spelled R-I-S-K

2020-08-27 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 5:1-11.  Let’s go!

Luke 5:1-2 (NIV) 
1  One day as Jesus was standing by the Lake of Gennesaret, with the people crowding around him and listening to the word of God, 
2  he saw at the water’s edge two boats, left there by the fishermen, who were washing their nets.
 
On verses 1-2:  I like this observation by Pastor Jon Courson: he notes that back in Jesus’ day fishermen would regularly wash their nets and stretch them at the end of each work day.  That way the net would not stink or rot and would remain useful for the long-term.  Likewise, if we want to be effective nets that God can use to bring people to Him, we need to be regularly washed with the water of God’s Word and stretched by His Holy Spirit often. 

Luke 5:3-11 (NIV)  
 3  He got into one of the boats, the one belonging to Simon, and asked him to put out a little from shore. Then he sat down and taught the people from the boat. 
4  When he had finished speaking, he said to Simon, “Put out into deep water, and let down the nets for a catch.” 
5  Simon answered, “Master, we’ve worked hard all night and haven’t caught anything. But because you say so, I will let down the nets.” 

穹蒼

2020-08-26 in /by

創世記一章8節     神稱穹蒼為「天」。有晚上，有早晨，這是第二日。

你還記得「起初 In The Beginning」是怎樣的嗎？起初是一塌糊塗？什麼都沒有，什麼都看不見，對不對？因為那時只有黑暗，沒有光。神說要有光，才有了光。但有了光，看到的依然是一片深淵，地在深淵下面。神的靈只能在水面上繼續運行。

於是神說：「眾水之間要有穹蒼，把水和水分開。」 穹蒼是什麼呢？一般的解釋是：地球上空巨大的圓拱或穹窿，宇宙之中的空間。英文就簡單多了：the sky, the firmament, the vault of heaven(天堂的穹頂)。有時我們就直接說：天空。

你知道天空是什麼顏色嗎？每天早上起床後，我都要先到窗口看看今天的天空是什麼頻色，因為它的顏色會告訴我那天是晴天或陰天，或雨天。假如是晴天，心裡就很快樂，因為出去走路不用帶傘；但若是有森林大火，看到雨天也很感恩。但你猜得到天空的顏色嗎？藍色?不對。白色？也不對。你可能會奇怪，天空明明是藍色的，怎麼不對？

神在第一天說要有光，就有了光。這個光的作用無比強大，在沒有日月星球時，這宇宙就己經有光的存在。現代科學家也告訴我們：宇宙中存在著兩種光，即可見光和不可見光。甚至連宇宙學也證實《聖經》的正確，因為大爆炸理論的爆炸也需要光，不然無法爆炸，所以它支持先有助大爆炸產生的光，然後才有發光的星體。

科學家也因而發現在靠近光譜的中心有一處有很多的放射線，科學家們把它們歸為「可見光」，這部份又被稱為「顏色」，包含紅，橙，黃，綠，藍和紫。研究結果發現，藍光和紫光的波長正好可以快速進入大氣層中微粒中的長度，這就使得它們能成為大氣層中的一部分。當光線穿過大氣層，藍光和紫光被大氣粒子上散射，從而使得天空看起來是藍色的。所以，天空本來是什麼顏色，

Don’t Be A People Pleaser

2020-08-26 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 4:38-44.  Let’s go!

Luke 4:38-39 (NIV) 
38  Jesus left the synagogue and went to the home of Simon. Now Simon’s mother-in-law was suffering from a high fever, and they asked Jesus to help her.
39  So he bent over her and rebuked the fever, and it left her. She got up at once and began to wait on them. 

On verses 38-39:  Jesus visits the home of Simon where he finds Simon’s mother-in-law sick with a high fever.  Simon’s family asks Jesus to help her, so Jesus bends over, rebukes the fever, and the fever goes away.  Simon’s mother-in-law recovers so much that she “got up at once” (v39) and begins serving the guests in the home (v39).
What can we learn from this?

Jesus has authority to rebuke sickness and heal diseases.
In this case what mobilized Jesus to exercise his authority to heal was that Simon’s family “asked Jesus to help her” (v38).  Jesus is able to heal, but do we ask Him to heal?  James 4:2 says, “…You do not have because you do not ask God.”  Here at THRIVE we have witnessed people being healed of sicknesses and injuries not because we ourselves have the power to heal but because God is our healer and we are not afraid to ask Him. 

神把光和暗分開

2020-08-25 in /by

創世記一章3節    神說：「要有光」，就有了光。

在疫情依然無法控制的今天，以及彌漫著鬼月氣息的時節裡，特別讓人想到在〈創世記〉一章二節裡記載著：「地是空虛混沌，深淵上面一片黑暗」，這樣的黑暗讓任何活物都無法生存。幸好在那片黑暗之上，還有神。祂的靈運行在水面上，當祂運行時，很可能就己經在思考，在計劃，創造天地的作為就如此開始了。

有一位牧師去拜訪他父母親的墓地時，回想他的父母出生於第一次世界大戰和西班牙流感的十年裡。 在大蕭條期間，爸爸無家可歸，媽媽採摘棉花為生。他們在1930年代中倖存下來，接著又度過1940年代的第二次世界大戰。 每十年都帶來一個新的挑戰：韓戰，冷戰，越戰，等等。雖然有些痛苦的回憶，但是他們都存著感恩的心度每一天。 因此，當他覺得現在到哪裡都要戴口罩很不方便時，就彷彿聽見他爸爸的聲音：「你會沒事的。」

「你會沒事的。」，正好像耶穌在最後的晚餐上對門徒說：「我留下平安給你們，我將我的平安賜給你們。我所賜的不像世人所賜的，你們心裡不要憂愁，也不要膽怯。(約14:27) 」雖然耶穌被釘十字架會帶來一些恐慌和憂傷，但是他們都會沒事，一切都會好起來。保惠師會來，把最美好的聖靈澆灌給門徒。門徒們雖然遭到逼迫，但是卻讓福音廣傳；雖然背著十字架，卻都踏上回天國的美好歸程。

在一切的空虛混沌和黑暗裡，神說：「要有光」，就有了光。這就是基督教的信仰帶給人最大的恩典。在黑暗之處看見光明，在絕望之時得到希望。在神的恩典裡，每一個人都能因著信心，而脫離黑暗進入光明。這就是神在創造的第一天，給人的啟示。

Jesus Is For Every Culture

2020-08-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 4:25-37.  Let’s go!

Luke 4:25-30 (NIV) 
25  I assure you that there were many widows in Israel in Elijah’s time, when the sky was shut for three and a half years and there was a severe famine throughout the land.
26  Yet Elijah was not sent to any of them, but to a widow in Zarephath in the region of Sidon.
27  And there were many in Israel with leprosy in the time of Elisha the prophet, yet not one of them was cleansed–only Naaman the Syrian.”
28  All the people in the synagogue were furious when they heard this.
29  They got up, drove him out of the town, and took him to the brow of the hill on which the town was built, in order to throw him down the cliff.
30  But he walked right through the crowd and went on his way.

On verses 25-30:  Previously in verse 24, in response to the rejection he felt from his own hometown, Jesus says, “no prophet is accepted in his hometown”.  Jesus then gives two examples of that from the Old Testament.  First, Jesus cites the Jewish prophet Elijah and how, at a time when the ancient Middle East was enduring a famine, Elijah was not sent to help anyone in Israel but instead was sent to help a Gentile (i.e. non-Jewish) widow in the region of Sidon (v26, see also 1 Kings 17:7-24).   Second, Jesus cites the prophet Elisha, Elijah’s successor, and how even though there were many people suffering from skin diseases in Israel, God used Elisha only to heal a Gentile from Syria called Naaman (v27, see also 2 Kings 5).

耶穌的門徒猶大

2020-08-25 in /by

馬太福音26章14-15節   當時，十二使徒中有一個叫加略人猶大的，去見祭司長，說：「我把他交給你們，你們願意給我多少錢？」他們給了他三十塊銀錢。

當你想到猶大時，你會聯想到誰？我聯想到摩西時代的法老和撒旦。因為猶大跟隨了耶穌三年，卻完全不明白耶穌的心，到最後上吊自殺。神給摩西時代的法老看很多神蹟奇事，但他心裡始終剛硬，最後滅亡。撒旦原本是天之驕子，神造牠時給了牠最美好的裝飾和能力，但牠卻因而驕傲自大，要與神一比高下，相爭天下，因而有一天也要被神所滅。

有的人特別不明白，當耶穌選十二門徒時，曾經終夜禱告(路6:12)，怎麼會選出一個要出賣祂的人呢？難道是神故意安排的嗎？若是的話，那就是神特地給了猶大三年去認識耶穌和悔改的機會，正如祂曾經給法老和撒旦一段很長的時間去悔改以得救的機會。只可惜猶大的心機不正，沒看到天國，只看到賺錢的機會。

猶大的出身不同於其他11個門徒。他的家鄉「加略」在聖經地圖上可以找到，是靠近猶太南方，鹽海以西約20哩的一個城市，離希伯崙很近。有人推測猶大在跟隨耶穌以前可能是個商人。因為約翰記載著一個故事，可以說明猶大的眼光和幹練。在耶穌最後一次進耶路撒冷之前，耶穌在伯大尼參加了一個宴席，馬利亞拿着一斤極貴的純哪噠香膏，抹耶穌的腳，又用自己頭髮去擦，屋裏充滿了膏的香氣。(約12:1-3)

猶大在這一聞一看之間，立刻估出這瓶香膏的價值約卅兩銀子，也就是當時普通人一年的工價。猶大識貨，經驗老到，因此有人推測他跟隨耶穌之前可能是個商人。當時約翰對猶大有了評語：「他說這話，並不是關心窮人，而是因為他是個賊，又管錢囊，常偷取錢囊中所存的。」(約12:4-5)。這是很有意思的評語，因為在四福音裡，即使門徒有小信或不信的言語，作者都只是直接記下，只有在這裡，約翰寫下了對猶大的看法。約翰的看法很可能也就是其他門徒對猶大的看法，覺得他管錢，手腳不乾淨，常偷取錢囊中所存的。這裡點出了猶大的弱點，對錢的貪婪，以及偷竊的習慣。

When You Feel Rejected, Hang Onto God’s Gracious Word

2020-08-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 4:14-24.  Let’s go!
 
Luke 4:14 (NIV) 
14  Jesus returned to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, and news about him spread through the whole countryside.
 
On verse 14:  Jesus had spent 40 days in the desert, praying, fasting, drawing near to God and also resisting temptation.  He returns to Galilee in the power of the Spirit, ready to start his public ministry.
 
What can we learn from this?  Go out of your way to draw near to God.  Then you can go back into the world where you are called to work, study or serve in the power of the Holy Spirit.  Protect your alone time with God.  Each day get fueled up in His Word and in His presence so that you’re ready to tackle the day.

Luke 4:15 (NIV) 
15  He taught in their synagogues, and everyone praised him.
 
On verse 15:  Jesus was an amazing preacher of God’s Word.  He’s the lamb of God who takes away our sins.  He’s also the G.O.A.T. (greatest of all time) when it comes to preaching God’s Word.