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Jesus Takes Away Your Reproach and Shame

2020-12-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 5:9-15.  Let’s go!

Joshua 5:9 (NIV)
9  Then the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” So the place has been called Gilgal to this day. 

On verse 9:  After Joshua leads the Israelites to be circumcised in accordance with the Jewish law, why did God say to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you”?  To commemorate the place where God rolled away this “reproach of Egypt” from the Israelites, they call this place “Gilgal”, which means “roll away”.  But what is “the reproach of Egypt” anyway? 

Keep in mind that circumcision was the sign of God’s covenant with the Jewish people (Genesis 17:11).  Circumcision was a symbol that distinguished the Jewish people from their Egyptian masters and showed that they were God’s chosen people.  When Joshua had this new generation of Israelites circumcised, it was them returning back to God’s law, going back to being set apart and distinct from an unbelieving world, which Egypt represented.  So “the reproach of Egypt” may be a way of describing God’s disapproval of those who don’t trust and follow Him.  By leading a new generation of Israelites to once again honour circumcision, God was rolling away that reproach from this new generation. 

我可以吃血吗?

2020-12-01 in /by

利未记 17:14 论到一切活物的生命，就在血中。所以我对以色列人说，无论什么活物的血，你们都不可吃，因为一切活物的血就是牠的生命。凡吃了血的，必被剪除。

我可以吃血吗？冬天来临了，火锅的季节也上巿了，巿面上正流行一样好吃的产品，就是鸭血。听说拿鸭血下火锅，非常好吃。猪血鸡血都有人在吃，而且特别宣传其美味，令人食指大动。令我惊讶的是，有许多牧者都觉得吃血没问题。因为耶稣都说了：「入口的不能污秽人，出口的乃能污秽人。(太15:11) 」

保罗也说过，「凡神所造的物都是好的，若感谢著领受，就没有一样可弃的。(提前4:4) 」神也曾经在异象中，三次叫彼得吃不洁之物和俗物，因为神所洁净的，不可当作俗物 (使10:9-16)。这些都是《圣经》的教导，难道是新约和旧约的不同吗？

那么在〈使徒行传〉的耶路撒冷会议中，耶稣的弟弟雅各为何做了一个总结：「所以据我的意见，不可难为那归服神的外邦人；只要写信，吩咐他们禁戒偶像的污秽和奸淫，并勒死的牲畜和血。」(使15:19-20)

让我们一起来看看这个教导是从何时开始的。这是当年大洪水退去，挪亚一家八口下船向神献祭之后，神对他们说：「你们要生养众多，遍满了地。凡地上的走兽和空中的飞鸟都必惊恐，惧怕你们，连地上一切的昆虫并海里一切的鱼都交付你们的手。凡活着的动物都可以作你们的食物。这一切我都赐给你们，如同菜蔬一样。惟独肉带着血，那就是牠的生命，你们不可吃。」(创9:1-4)

Circumcised by Jesus

2020-11-30 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 5:1-8.  Let’s go!

Joshua 5:1 (NIV) 
1  Now when all the Amorite kings west of the Jordan and all the Canaanite kings along the coast heard how the LORD had dried up the Jordan before the Israelites until we had crossed over, their hearts melted and they no longer had the courage to face the Israelites.

On verse 1:  Upon hearing about the past miracles God had performed for the Israelites, Israel’s enemies were very much intimidated.  Nevertheless, as we will see in the verses that follow, God would lead the Israelites through an important process internally before they would be ready to enter and conquer the promised land.

What can we learn from this?  God has a promised land for you to conquer.  That promised land is the dream God has placed in your heart, the destiny God made you for, the calling on your life.  But before you can take over your promised land successfully, God has an internal, private preparation process that He wants you to go through, one which people who know you from a distance will not be aware of.  Promotion in public is preceded by preparation in private. 

赎罪日Yom Kippur

2020-11-29 in /by

利未记 16:6-10亚伦要把赎罪祭的公牛奉上，为自己和本家赎罪；也要把两只公山羊安置在会幕门口、耶和华面前，为那两只羊拈阄，一阄归与耶和华，一阄归与阿撒泻勒。亚伦要把那拈阄归与耶和华的羊献为赎罪祭，但那拈阄归与阿撒泻勒的羊要活着安置在耶和华面前，用以赎罪，打发人送到旷野去，归与阿撒泻勒。

根据犹太传统：起初，上帝创造天地 (创1:1) 。创造的第一天是在希伯来提叙黎月（犹太历七月）的第一天。犹太新年(Rosh Hashanah) 字面上的意思是「年头」，今年(2020年)落在阳历9月18日。当天黄昏，便进入了犹太历5781年。犹太历不是从亚伯拉罕被拣选、摩西被呼召或大卫王朝的时候开始，而是在宇宙被造时开始的，因为《圣经》是万物的历史。

对于犹太人，神在《圣经》里有很明确的指示，新年代表审判，因此要自我内省、祷告和悔改。新年也是庄严的节期，用来进行个人灵命反省和思考人类未来的方向，这节日是「敬畏的日子」(Days of Awe)，用来检视自己的生活并重新将自己归向神，与神和好。

依《圣经》记载，新年又称作「吹角节」。在这段节期，犹太百姓会在以色列营地四处吹起号角，尖锐剌耳的声音是要唤起人民悔改与出征，是指属灵争战。号角的声音涉及到西奈山的启示(出19:16)、信心(诗81)、聚集犹太子民(赛27:13)、对罪的告诫(赛58:1)、以色列国的复兴和对列国的审判(撒9:14)。最终，号角声预表了主耶稣的复临。祂将回来审判列国(太25)，从困苦中释放以色列子民(赛63)、和以色列国立新约(耶31)、为祂将在平安禧年掌权预备道路。

God Is Never Too Early and Never Too Late

2020-11-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 4:11-24.  We’ll include verse 10 in here too.  Let’s go!

Joshua 4:10-18 (NIV) 
10  Now the priests who carried the ark remained standing in the middle of the Jordan until everything the LORD had commanded Joshua was done by the people, just as Moses had directed Joshua. The people hurried over,
11  and as soon as all of them had crossed, the ark of the LORD and the priests came to the other side while the people watched.
12  The men of Reuben, Gad and the half-tribe of Manasseh crossed over, armed, in front of the Israelites, as Moses had directed them…….

On verses 10-18:  If I was one of the priests carrying the ark, and I had to remain standing in the middle of the Jordan River while everyone else is passing through, I would probably be more than a little nervous, thinking, “Can we go over already?  What if the river collapses on us and washes us away?”  But the priests stayed until all 40,000 Israelites crossed over the Jordan River (v13).  It wasn’t until all the soldiers crossed over that God gave the command for the priests to come out of the Jordan (v13-17), and the moment the priests stepped foot on the other side of the Jordan River the river waters returned to flood stage as before (v18).

Remember and Celebrate What God Has Done

2020-11-28 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 4:1-10.  Let’s go!

Joshua 4:1-9 (NIV) 
1  When the whole nation had finished crossing the Jordan, the LORD said to Joshua, 
2  “Choose twelve men from among the people, one from each tribe, 
3  and tell them to take up twelve stones from the middle of the Jordan from right where the priests stood and to carry them over with you and put them down at the place where you stay tonight.” 
4  So Joshua called together the twelve men he had appointed from the Israelites, one from each tribe, 
5  and said to them, “Go over before the ark of the LORD your God into the middle of the Jordan. Each of you is to take up a stone on his shoulder, according to the number of the tribes of the Israelites, …….

On verses 1-9:  Why did Joshua tell the twelve representatives from the twelve tribes of Israel to take a stone from the middle of the Jordan River where the priests were standing.  It’s because these stones were “to be a memorial to the people of Israel forever” (v7).  In other words, these large stones, which they would carry on their shoulders (v5) from the bottom of the Jordan River, would serve as a long-lasting reminder that God had cut off the flow of the Jordan and that the people crossed the Jordan on dry land.

两种光—「外面的光」与「里面的光」 　　

2020-11-27 in /by

箴言3章6节  在你一切所行的事上都要认定祂，祂必指引你的路。

两种光——「外面的光」与「里面的光」

圣经给我们看见我们身上有两种的光，一种就是眼睛看得见的「外面的光」，一种是照明我们心肠肺腑、代表上帝对我们进行道德审判的「里面的光」，这是良知所发出来的光，这两种光能使一个人的生命产生非常大的价值。

人看人的时候，一定先看人的眼睛，因为眼睛是人的面孔中唯一能反照出光的地方。眼睛是人身上的灯，人看你，就从你绽放光彩的眼睛建立他对你的印象。如果你的眼睛明亮，人看见你，就看见你美丽的外表与光彩。里面的光，使人从里面看见自己，这一点是许多宗教都注意到的。

没有光，就无法显明事物的模样与真实的情况。以弗所书5章13节告诉我们：「一切能显明的就是光。」你到仓库找东西，一定要先打开灯，因为光能显明仓库里有什么。人的心也需要光，才知道什么当存留、什么当去除，诗篇139篇24节说：「看在我里面有什么恶行没有，引导我走永生的道路」。

「眼睛」是「外面的光」，「良知」是「里面的光」。箴言告诉我们：「人的灵是耶和华的灯」（箴20:27），上帝把光放在你的里面，照亮你的内在，使你有自知之明，知道你的心存著什么。人之所以遮住他里面的光，是因为他不愿意听良心对他所说的话，也不愿意听良心对他所做的见证。

里面的光——「良心」

挪威神学家哈列斯比（Ole Kristian Hallesby, 1879-1961）的论文「良心论」说：「人之所以为人，因为人有一个向上帝负责的良心。良心是上帝的代表，是上帝的光，是上帝的声音，照明我们，指责我们，使我们自知我们里面有什么。」

The Walk of Faith

2020-11-27 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Joshua 3:9-17.  Let’s go!

Joshua 3:9-14 (NIV) 
9  Joshua said to the Israelites, “Come here and listen to the words of the LORD your God. 
10  This is how you will know that the living God is among you and that he will certainly drive out before you the Canaanites, Hittites, Hivites, Perizzites, Girgashites, Amorites and Jebusites. 
11  See, the ark of the covenant of the Lord of all the earth will go into the Jordan ahead of you. 
12  Now then, choose twelve men from the tribes of Israel, one from each tribe. 
13  And as soon as the priests who carry the ark of the LORD–the Lord of all the earth–set foot in the Jordan, its waters flowing downstream will be cut off and stand up in a heap.” 
14  So when the people broke camp to cross the Jordan, the priests carrying the ark of the covenant went ahead of them.

On verses 9-14:  The priests carrying the ark of the covenant go ahead of the people to lead the way through the Jordan River.  What can we learn from this?  A good leader will not tell his or her people to do what he himself is unwilling to do.  The best leaders lead not just with their words but also with their example.