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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.

耶穌的門徒–奮銳黨的西門

2020-08-23 in /by

提摩太後書 4章7-8節   那美好的仗我已經打過了，當跑的路我已經跑盡了，所信的道我已經守住了。 從此以後，有公義的冠冕為我存留，就是按著公義審判的主到了那日要賜給我的；不但賜給我，也賜給凡愛慕祂顯現的人。

在新約裡一共有九個人名叫西門，這在當時是一個很普通的名字，因此作者特別註明這位是奮銳黨的西門，以便和西門彼得有所區別。西門彼得的事蹟充斥於四本福音書裡，相反的，奮銳黨的西門則一點聲音也沒有。但是主對他們的愛是一樣的，主對他們的呼召也是一樣的，除了有時帶著三個門徒去禱告或做事，在主耶穌的行蹤裡，他們都一樣地領受著主精心的教導。當聖靈澆灌時，一個也沒有落掉，除了己經尋短見的猶大，每一個人都領受到主豐富的恩典。不管是衝動派，溫柔派，多言型，靜默型，主都一樣眷愛。所以不管我們有怎樣的性情，都可以放心到主面前，祂對你的愛不會少過對彼得的愛，也不會多過對約翰的愛。

我們先來看看在耶穌時代的奮銳黨是什麼組織。一般都認為，在當時的猶太社會裡有許多黨派，宗教性的黨派有法利賽派、撒都該派、愛色尼派等；政治性的有希律黨、奮銳黨等。希律黨擁護希律家為王，而奮銳黨（聖經新譯本譯作激進派）則是相對的。他們以民族主義，國家主義為號召，主張以武力來推翻羅馬的專政統治，保全猶太人的法律，尋求政治上的獨立自主，可說是猶太人的革命黨。他們甚至被稱為狂熱派，是一群強調「不自由毋寧死」的敢死隊，及為真理公義而戰的勇士。

但是聖經學者羅勃特·伊斯曼（Robert Eisenman）指出，根據當時《塔木德》的記載，奮銳黨「並不真是一個組織，毋寧說是一群想向統轄上帝的應許地巴勒斯坦的羅馬帝國，進行復仇與革命行動之激進份子。」

God’s Word, Your Weapon

2020-08-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Luke 4:1-13.  Let’s go!

Luke 4:1-13 (NIV) 
1  Jesus, full of the Holy Spirit, returned from the Jordan and was led by the Spirit in the desert,
2  where for forty days he was tempted by the devil. He ate nothing during those days, and at the end of them he was hungry.
3  The devil said to him, “If you are the Son of God, tell this stone to become bread.”
4  Jesus answered, “It is written: ‘Man does not live on bread alone.'”……

On verses 1-13:  After having been baptized in the Jordan River, Jesus is led into the desert where he is tempted by the devil for 40 days.  Notice that each time Jesus is tempted by the devil, Jesus fights back by quoting Scripture.  In response to the devil’s first temptation Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 8:3 in the Old Testament.  In response to the devil’s second temptation Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:13.  In response to the devil’s third temptation Jesus quotes Deuteronomy 6:16.  What is Jesus doing?  In response to each specific temptation he faces, Jesus recites a verse from Scripture that helps him to do the right thing in that situation.  In all likelihood Jesus is reciting these verses from memory, since the only place you could read a copy of Scripture back in Jesus’ time was in the synagogue.

從服事到陪伴

2020-08-21 in /by

路加福音10 章41-42節   主回答說：「馬大，馬大，你為許多的事操心煩惱，但是不可少的只有一件。馬利亞已經選擇了那上好的福分，是沒有人能從她奪去的。」

曾經有很多年，我很討厭馬大及馬利亞的故事。我對這故事的詮釋是這樣的：

有天耶穌和門徒在旅行途中停留在馬大及馬利亞這兩個姐妹的家。馬大很熱情地歡迎這些客人，大費周章地準備盛宴來款待耶穌及門徒。在馬大煮得焦頭爛額時，撇見妹妹馬利亞安靜地坐在耶穌腳前。馬大發火了，跑到耶穌面前指控耶穌縱容馬利亞的偷懶。結果耶穌不但沒有安慰馬大，叫馬利亞去幫忙，反而說馬大為許多的事煩擾，卻遺漏了唯一不可少的事。耶穌說馬利亞所選擇的是不能奪去的上 好的福分。耶穌指出馬大選擇錯誤。

耶穌怎麼可以這樣說？把自己想像成馬大的我，覺得被耶穌斥責。因為我是家裡的老大，總是很勤勞很努力的做事，讀這個故事讓我覺得耶穌很不公平，沒有體諒馬大的辛勞，反而包庇馬利亞的懶惰。所以有很多年我很討厭這個聖經故事。

一直到多年後，經過不斷的省思，我才慢慢體會到耶穌所表達的愛與真理。我看到如馬大的自己，如何常常忙碌，無法慢下腳步，以為當個好的基督徒，就是要不斷的服事、讓自己有用處。但是，一如馬大，我忽略了那唯一不可少的事。

耶穌所說的唯一不可少的事是什麼呢？就是如馬利亞一般，坐在耶穌腳前。如果愛是基督徒最重要的使命，那麼耶穌其實在說愛是花時間來到上帝面前，花時間與耶穌同在，花時間陪伴我們所重視的人。但是我們常常把替上帝做工擺在花時間安靜在上帝面前之上。我們做很多事，讓自己很忙碌，但是卻缺少彼此陪伴。