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复活的耶稣_不信的多马

2020-04-15 in /by

约翰福音20章29节  耶稣对他说：「你因看见了我才信，那没有看见就信的有福了！」

如果福音书只有前三本，我们就只知道多马的名字，无从追寻他的事蹟。感谢主！约翰替我们记下了许多宝贝而独特的史料，使我们得着教训。

多马是双生子的意思。有人说，他本名犹大，后来见十二门徒中有雅各的儿子犹大，又有卖主的加略人犹大，为了分别起见，就叫他的诨名：双生子。多马又叫低士马，多马是希伯来语，低士马是希腊语，都是双生子的意思，与利百加生下以扫雅各「双子」那个字是同一个字（创廿五）。想必他定是双生子之一，就是不知道另外那个双生子在哪里？后来又怎样？多马却因跟从主而留名于后世，受人纪念，可见服事主的人总不吃亏。

一、多疑的多马

提起多马，就想到不信，正如提起犹大，就想到卖主，提起底马就想到贪爱世界一样。圣经中提到多马三次发言，三次都显出他的疑惑不信。

第一次是在拉撒路死了的时候，主说：「拉撒路死了，我没有在那里就欢喜，这是为你们的缘故，好叫你们相信；如今我们可以往他那里去吧！」多马就对其他门徒说：「我们也去和他同死吧（约11:15-16）」。第二次是在最后的晚餐席上，主说：「我去为你们预备了地方，就必再来接你们到我那里去。」多马说：「主啊！我们不知道你往哪里去，怎么知道那条路呢（约14:5）？」第三次就是主复活后向门徒显现，多马竟不在场，后来门徒告诉他，他们已经看见主了。多马却说：「我非看见他手上的钉痕，用指头探入那钉痕，又用手探入他的肋旁，我总不信（约20:25）」。

The More You Look at Jesus, the More Like Jesus You Become

2020-04-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 John 3:1-8.  I used to think that 1 John was an easy book to read.  While there are still parts of 1 John that I find very clear and easy to understand, there are other parts of 1 John that come across to me as a little cryptic and that require us to meditate deeply in order to grasp the deep truths that John is communicating.  So let’s break down this passage verse by verse to uncover what John is talking about.

1 John 3:1a (NIV) 
1  How great is the love the Father has lavished on us, that we should be called children of God! And that is what we are!

On verse 1a:  When our sin had disqualified us from God’s presence and we had no right to have anything to do with God, God lavished His love on us when He sent His Son Jesus to die on the cross.  It is through Jesus Christ that we too can be called children of God.   That’s the identity changing love of our God.  Because of His love, we’re no longer the same.  We go from sinners to saints, from excluded to included, from being orphaned to being part of His family.  It’s not because of anything we have done but because of His grace.

复活的耶稣_向门徒显现

2020-04-14 in /by

路加福音24章36节  正说这话的时候，耶稣亲自站在他们当中，说：「愿你们平安！」

复活节向世人证明了一件事，圣诞节是真实的故事。虽然我们无法确定耶稣降生的日期，但我们可以肯定，耶稣曾经出生成为人，在这世界上以一个人的形像，过了33年半的时间。

在耶稣复活那天，门徒惊疑不定。他们聚在一起，不敢再出去。一来敌人知道耶稣的尸身不见了，己经开始放话是祂的门徒偷走了耶稣的尸体；二是他们还在半信半疑之中。有人看见复活的耶稣，有人没有看见，究竟是有还是没有？是眼花还是幻觉？

今天有则新闻，有位老人家患了新冠状肺炎，治愈后出院，街坊隣舍夹道歚迎，为他打气。他也保持距离地感谢他们。这些人是切实看到老人家了，所以他们的喜乐洋溢在外。

但是门徒大多数没看到复活的耶稣，怎么笑得出来呢？约翰记载：那日，就是七日的第一日晚上，门徒所在的地方，因怕犹太人，门都关了。耶稣来站在当中，对他们说：「愿你们平安！」 说了这话，就把手和肋旁指给他们看。门徒看见主，就喜乐了。(约20:19-20)

他们是真的喜乐了, 因为看到了复活的耶稣。没有人开门，耶稣却出现在他们中间，何等神奇。耶稣还有身体，甚至连祂的钉痕也还在，却不被时空限制了。

You Can’t Have God Without Jesus

2020-04-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 John 2:18-29.  Let’s go!

1 John 2:26 (NIV) 
26  I am writing these things to you about those who are trying to lead you astray.

What is going on in these verses?  The apostle John is warning his readers about false teachers.  These false teachers were originally part of the church that John led, but they left the church (v19) and were now teaching that Jesus is not the Christ (that is, not the Messiah that the Jews were waiting for nor the Saviour that we all need) (v22). 

These teachers were likely telling the people in John’s church, “You do not know the truth” (v21), accusing John and the other apostles of lying to them.  In response, John reassures his people that “you have an anointing form the Holy One, and all of you know the truth” (v20).  With more reassuring words, John writes, “I do not write to you because you do not know the truth but because you do know it and because no lie comes from the truth” (v21).   He urges them to continue in the faith and not to feel insecure just because these false teachers were saying “You’re missing something!” (v27-28).   

复活的耶稣_在以马忤斯

2020-04-13 in /by

路加福音24章34节    主果然复活，已经现给西门看了。

以马忤斯这个地方在圣经里只出现过一次，借着路加医生的介绍，我们知道它离耶路撒冷大约有25里路，但是没有告诉我们是哪个方向。虽然考古学家们提出了六个可能的地点，但目前尚无共识。路加生记载的这件事发生在耶稣复活那天的傍晚，有两个曾经跟随耶稣的人，正从耶路撒冷朝着以马忤斯而去。这两人虽然不列在十二使徒之中，但因为曾经是跟随耶稣的人，所以也被称为门徒。其中有一人名叫革流巴，另一人的姓名不详。

虽然有一些圣经学者认为〈马可福音〉第十六章的9-20节都是后人加上的，即使如此，这段话要突显的，就是连门徒也不相信耶稣复活的事实。这段记录让我们看到，即使紧紧跟随耶稣有三年之久的人，曾经与耶稣一起共同生活的人，都有信心不足的时候，何况我们？但是耶稣并没有谴责他们，反而专门为他们上了一堂浓缩的圣经课程，从摩西和众先知起，凡经上所指著自己的话，都给他们讲解明白了。他们的知识有了，但是信心依然在摇摆之中。这也是我们之间很多人的真实情况，信耶稣了，但是对耶稣所行的神蹟和复活还是有保留的相信，因此努力用各种解释把神蹟合理化。这样做，对自己的信心一点都没帮助。

这两个门徒的心中，只相信耶稣是先知。他们曾亲近耶稣，有很多关于耶稣的知识，看过祂行各样的大能，听过祂精辟的讲道，但不相信祂是神的儿子。他们有很多知识，但是没有信心。就好像犹大一样，和耶稣很亲近，还去过短宣哦！他也是耶稣差遣出去传道的人选之一，但是他却失落了，成了灭亡之子。

3 Stages in Your Spiritual Growth

2020-04-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 John 2:9-17.  Let’s go!

1 John 2:9-11 (NIV) 
9  Anyone who claims to be in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness. 
10  Whoever loves his brother lives in the light, and there is nothing in him to make him stumble. 
11  But whoever hates his brother is in the darkness and walks around in the darkness; he does not know where he is going, because the darkness has blinded him.

On verses 9-11:  Light versus darkness is an ongoing theme in 1 John, the idea that God is light (see 1 John 1:5), that Jesus is the true light (2:5) and that if we are in Jesus we are in the light as well (1:7).  In contrast, the darkness is anywhere where Jesus is not glorified or obeyed (1:6).  How do you know if a Christian is truly in the light or in the darkness?  It’s in how that person loves others.  Here John proclaims that anyone who says he is in the light but hates his brother is still in the darkness, whereas anyone who loves his brother lives in the light (v10).  In other words, how we love others is proof of whether we are truly in Jesus or not. 

复活的耶稣

2020-04-12 in /by

约翰福音20章17节   耶稣说：「不要摸我，因我还没有升上去见我的父。你往我弟兄那里去，告诉他们说我要升上去见我的父，也是你们的父，见我的神，也是你们的神。」

在〈约翰福音〉20章里，我们看到跟随耶稣的马利亚和其他妇女，以及门徒，都乱成一团。他们不知道究竟发生了何事？耶稣的尸身为什么不见了？耶稣的坟墓为何打开了？坟前的石头又是谁把它挪开的？那些守卫的罗马兵丁呢？无数的疑问拥入现场，他们迫切需要一个像福尔摩斯般的侦探。

抺大拉的马利亚看到坟墓是空的，立刻去告诉门徒，约翰和彼得立刻飞奔过去，看见耶稣的裹头巾和细麻布，他们想不通，又回去了。只留下马利亚在那里痛哭。她心里觉得不可思议，又探头往坟里看，这下子看到两个天使问她为什么哭？跟天使对话完，一回头又看到一个人问她为什么哭，她以为是管理园子的，便问他有没有把耶稣的尸身移走。

Jesus = Perfect Love

2020-04-12 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 John 2:1-8.  Let’s go!

1 John 2:1-2 (NIV) 
1  My dear children, I write this to you so that you will not sin. But if anybody does sin, we have one who speaks to the Father in our defense–Jesus Christ, the Righteous One. 
2  He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours but also for the sins of the whole world.

On verses 1-2:  The greatest lawyer you will have representing you is Jesus Christ.  When we sin, Jesus acts as our advocate and speaks to the Father in our defense (v1).  Yet unlike lawyers who defend with their words alone, Jesus defended us with His blood, giving Himself as “the atoning sacrifice for our sins”.  What an amazing advocate and Saviour we have in Jesus. 
 

耶稣在耶路撒冷_复活

2020-04-10 in /by

路加福音24章6节   祂不在这里，已经复活了。

今天再分享以色列美角的一篇贴文：为什么大家习惯过受难「星期五」和复活节「星期日」？

咦？为什么每年教会过复活节，不会像圣诞节固定在同个日期，但每年却一定会是在星期天？而且，为什么都要在星期五纪念耶稣的受难呢？ 然后这样到底怎么会有三天三夜？

这些问题，对于大多从小到大在教会长大的人，或许因为习惯了，也不觉得需要去想「为什么」，反正跟星期天聚会几乎都是10点开始一样….  但其实这些传统是有「由来的」，并不是一开始就是这样的。希望这篇的解释对大家有帮助，也希望读起来不会很无聊！

为什么是受难「星期五」和复活节「星期日」？

如果上网查为什么是受难「星期五」，答案会说是因为耶稣在周五受难。但为什么耶稣在周五受难？网路答案会说因为圣经这样说。

但如之前提的，犹太人计算一天是从晚上开始、计算一周是从星期天开始，以及圣经主要都是按照犹太历在算。那到底为什么是周五和周日？我们又怎么会习惯周五受难，周日复活，然后这样有三天三夜的说法？

4 Reasons Pride Goes Before A Fall

2020-04-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today we’re doing a one day look at the book of Obadiah, one of the shortest books in the Bible and the shortest book in the Old Testament.  Here is some background on the book of Obadiah that you may find helpful:

Very little is known about the author of this book, except that his name is Obadiah which means “worshiper of Yahweh”.  Several individuals in the Old Testament were called Obadiah, although it is not clear which Obadiah wrote this book. 

The purpose of the book of Obadiah is to give a prophetic message and warning for the nation of Edom.  The Edomites were perennial enemies of the Israelites.  They were direct descendants of Esau, while the Israelites were direct descendants of Esau’s younger twin brother Jacob (later known as Israel).  Despite Esau being the first born, God blessed and tasked Jacob and his descendants, the Israelites, with the special calling of being His chosen people.  The conflict between Esau and Jacob would carry on for centuries between the Edomites and the Israelites.

It is uncertain when Obadiah was written, although some scholars believe that it was written during the reign of King Jehoram of Judah in approximately 850 B.C.