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Living to Worship Jesus

2020-06-03 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 4:1-11. Let’s go!

Revelation 4:1 (NIV)
1 After this I looked, and there before me was a door standing open in heaven. And the voice I had first heard speaking to me like a trumpet said, “Come up here, and I will show you what must take place after this.”

On verse 1: After receiving messages from Jesus for seven churches in Asia (chapters 2-3), John, still in a posture of prayer, sees in front of him a door open to heaven. The same trumpet-like voice he heard before – Jesus’ voice – invites him to come up to the door and He will show John “what must take place after this”. In other words, Jesus is about to show John things that will happen in the future.

Revelation 4:2-3 (NIV)
2 At once I was in the Spirit, and there before me was a throne in heaven with someone sitting on it.
3 And the one who sat there had the appearance of jasper and carnelian. A rainbow, resembling an emerald, encircled the throne.

得勝的密訣

2020-06-02 in /by

出埃及記17章11節  摩西何時舉手，以色列人就得勝；何時垂手，亞瑪力人就得勝。

摩西帶著曾為埃及奴隸的數百萬人浩浩蕩蕩地出了埃及，過了紅海，進入曠野。真正的挑戰出現在每一天的生活裡。看著埃及的軍兵被海水淹沒固然興奮，但是沒水少肉的現實，讓以色列人開始不停的抱怨。一有不滿就抱怨，而神認為，這是百姓對祂的試探。因為以色列人從在埃及時就看到一件又一件的神蹟，但是在遇到問題時，他們還是不會交託，不會好好向神說，擺出一付：看你給不給，的姿態。令神厭惡。

我想每個做父母的也是如此，從孩子生下來就照顧得無微不至，而孩子一有問題就抱怨，就說別人的父母比較好，你可能會氣得想把他趕出門。孩子想用抱怨來讓父母覺得虧欠，做得不夠好，試探父母的底線以達到他們的目的，都是惹人厭惡的作法。

即使如此，神還是賜下嗎哪，招來鵪鶉，滿足他們生活的必需和慾望。即使如此，神還是帶領他們打敗沙漠之狼的亞瑪力人。為了讓百姓明白信靠順服的重要，神藉著收取嗎哪的規則教他們信心的功課；為了讓以色列人明白唯有倚靠神才能得勝，摩西在約書亞打仗時，雙手舉起不停禱告：「摩西何時舉手，以色列人就得勝；何時垂手，亞瑪力人就得勝。(出17:11)」因此戶珥和亞倫一人一邊，扶住摩西的手。

Salve for Your Eyes

2020-06-02 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 3:14-22.  Let’s go!

Revelation 3:14 (NIV) 
14  “To the angel of the church in Laodicea write: These are the words of the Amen, the faithful and true witness, the ruler of God’s creation.
 
On verse 14:  In His message to the church in Laodicea, we learn 3 things about Jesus:
 
– Jesus is the “Amen”.  What does Jesus mean when He calls Himself “the Amen”?  “Amen” carries the meaning of agreement, affirmation and certainty.  When Jesus calls Himself the “Amen”, it means that everything that Jesus is and everything that Jesus does affirms and agrees with who God is.  Jesus is the One who gives us certainty about who God is and what He is like.  If you want to know who God is and what He is like, look at Jesus.

– Jesus is the faithful and true witness, which we discussed when looking at Revelation 1:5.
 

耶和華必為你們爭戰

2020-06-01 in /by

出埃及記14章14節    耶和華必為你們爭戰，你們只管靜默，不要作聲。

看了昨天鹽光老師講解十災，有沒有覺得收穫不小？我經常在想，假如一個人經歷了十災，還不肯相信神的話，那就像法老一樣，沒救了。而親身參與這十災的摩西，他對神的信心又會如何增長？

災難使人成長，但是你需要在災難中看見神的美意。〈約伯記〉第五章裡，約伯的朋友以利法形容「人生在世必遇患難，如同火星飛騰。(伯5:7)」主耶穌也說：「在世上你們有苦難(約16:33)」在十災裡，每一災都有一個功課，為了要使法老及百姓認識誰是真神。法老的臣僕有一些己經相信摩西所言不假，所以摩西說有雹災時，他們就把奴僕和牲畜叫進家裡；不相信的就把奴僕和牲畜留在田裡。所以神的話不管到哪裡，有耳肯聽的人都是聰明人。

當摩西經歷過十災，帶領百姓走到紅海時，他對神的信心己經和當初蒙召的信心大大不同了。他親身經歷到神說的每句話都應驗了，他也開始明白神的作法，他己經很相信神了。但是碰到紅海，後有法老的追兵時，你覺得摩西可以應付嗎？

當以色列人在紅海邊，看見法老的追兵時，就開始罵摩西：「難道在埃及沒有墳地，你把我們帶來死在曠野嗎？你為什麼這樣待我們，將我們從埃及領出來呢？ 我們在埃及豈沒有對你說過，不要攪擾我們，容我們服侍埃及人嗎？因為服侍埃及人比死在曠野還好。」

How Jesus Loves His Church

2020-06-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 3:7-13.  Let’s go!

On verses 7-13:  The church in Philadelphia was going through a similar trial as the church in Smyrna, which was persecution from a group that claimed to be Jews but were not.  Jesus calls this group of persecutors a bunch of liars (v9) and, as He did in Revelation 2:9, “a synagogue of Satan”.  To the suffering church in Philadelphia, Jesus expresses His love in several different ways:

1. Jesus tells them that “I know your deeds…I know that you have little strength, yet you have kept my word and not denied my name” (v8).  Jesus expresses compassion for His church.

2. Jesus tells them, “See, I have placed before you an open door that no one can shut” (v8).  In other words, whereas the church in Philadelphia probably experienced many closed doors in the form of trials and persecution, Jesus tells them that He Himself holds a door open for them that no one can shut. 

十災的分析

2020-05-31 in /by

出埃及記七章3-5節  我要使法老的心剛硬，也要在埃及地多行神蹟奇事。 但法老必不聽你們，我要伸手重重地刑罰埃及，將我的軍隊以色列民從埃及地領出來。 我伸手攻擊埃及，將以色列人從他們中間領出來的時候，埃及人就要知道我是耶和華。

經文段落：出埃及記 6:2–9:35

十災的結構是一堂給法老必修的「上帝存在論證」的哲學課。

十災的發生與啟動，乃因耶和華欲回應法老在兩件事上的「強烈否認」與「強硬拒絕」：

第一、耶和華是神。
第二、以色列作為父神耶和華「長子」的身分。(出埃及記4:22-23)

所以，耶和華要給法老，上一門非常「實際而具體」的哲學課，一堂關於「上帝存在論證」的必修課。

猶太人讀十災，發現到十災有一個「精心設計」、「別具匠心」的工整結構。

首先、原則上，十災以一種災難等級「不斷升高」、傷亡規模「漸次擴大」的型態來開展，由此，耶和華神得以向法老「強力證明」，誰才是那真正統管宇宙、掌管自然、運作人類歷史的神。

Rise Above Complacency

2020-05-31 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Revelation 3:1-6.  Let’s go!

Revelation 3:1-3 (NIV) 
1  “To the angel of the church in Sardis write: These are the words of him who holds the seven spirits of God and the seven stars. I know your deeds; you have a reputation of being alive, but you are dead.
2  Wake up! Strengthen what remains and is about to die, for I have not found your deeds complete in the sight of my God.
3  Remember, therefore, what you have received and heard; obey it, and repent. But if you do not wake up, I will come like a thief, and you will not know at what time I will come to you.

On verses 1-3:  Jesus’ next message is for the church in Sardis.  Sardis was a wealthy city that was strategically located on an important trade route.  Sardis was also a centre for religious activity, being the home of the temple of Artemis and also a Jewish synagogue.  Sardis was quite possibly the wealthiest and most famous of all the cities that Jesus addresses in Revelation 2 and 3.

加爾文的禱告

2020-05-29 in /by

唐崇榮國際佈道團網站近日上載一段視頻「加爾文的禱告」，以此勉勵信徒在新冠肺炎日子仍然確信上帝是牧者，帶領信徒走過這場戰疫。

宗教改革重要人物之一約翰·加爾文（John Calvin）強調，禱告佔基督信仰一個很重要的席位。他提出禱告包含四方面的意義：

信徒禱告並不是要告知上帝一些祂不曉得的事情，催促上帝做一些祂不願意做的事情。反之禱告能夠提醒信徒去尋求神，透過默想神的應許實踐信心，並且能夠幫助信徒從焦慮中得到舒緩。

其次是禱告信徒藉此領受父神給我們存留在天上的豐盛。第三，禱告也是神所預定的，但並非為祂而是為了信徒的好處。第四，在禱告中我們將神所應得的榮耀歸給祂，並向祂獻上敬拜，但同時也使我們獲益。

在唐崇榮國際佈道團「加爾文的禱告」（Prayer of John Calvin）視頻中，主持人呼籲信徒每天抽時間禱告，為自己也為身邊的弟兄姊妹代求，在這場瘟疫之中，讓我們仍然能夠看到上帝的慈愛超越一切的困難，盼望信徒一起學習全然信靠良善的上帝。

Jesus Your Perfect Judge

2020-05-29 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

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

Revelation 2:18 (NIV) 
18  “To the angel of the church in Thyatira write: These are the words of the Son of God, whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze.

On verse 18:  Jesus’ next message is for the church in Thyatira, a small city known for its agriculture and purple dye (see Acts 16:14).  To the church in Thyatira, Jesus describes Himself as the Son of God, “whose eyes are like blazing fire and whose feet are like burnished bronze” (v18).  According to some scholars, eyes like blazing fire and feet like burnished bronze are pictures of judgment.  That’s because Jesus has some tough words to speak to the church in Thyatira.