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耶稣在迦拿

2020-02-20 in /by

以赛亚书42:3 压伤的芦苇祂不折断，将残的灯火祂不吹灭，祂凭真实将公理传开。

耶稣接到了一个喜筵的邀请，便带着几个新接收的门徒一起往迦拿而去。迦拿在拿撒勒和迦百农的中间，是一个在小山和溪水旁的小村，交通不方便，是一个十分安静的小村子。

从迦百农往东南走了大约15公里，就到了迦拿。此时耶稣刚收的一个门徒腓力去找他住在迦拿的朋友拿但业，对他说：「摩西在律法上所写的和众先知所记的那一位，我们遇见了，就是约瑟的儿子拿撒勒人耶稣。」(约1:45) 根据对拿撒勒的认知，拿但业轻蔑地回答：「拿撒勒还能出什么好的吗？」

耶稣一看见拿但业，便说他是个心里没有诡诈的真以色列人，拿但业很詑异耶稣从何知道他？耶稣说：腓力还没有叫你时，我己经看到你站在无花果树下了。拿但业觉得耶稣好「神」哪!立刻称呼耶稣是神的儿子，以色列的王。更「神」的事接着发生了。

耶稣领着几个门徒到了迦拿的婚宴，婚礼的主人家可能是耶稣的母亲马利亚的亲戚，因此她也在那里帮忙张罗。在充满喜乐的盛筵里，马利亚却很着急地来找耶稣，因为给客人喝的酒准备得不够，这是何等失礼的事啊!这样大的事，马利亚不找主人或管家再去买些酒，反而是去找儿子耶稣，可见她知道耶稣能人之所不能。因此，她对用人说：「他告诉你们什么，你们就做什么。」这就是耶稣变水为酒，第一件公开施行的神蹟。祂的门徒就因而信祂了。(约2:1-11)

A Game You Can’t Win

2020-02-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 31:21-40.  Let’s go!

Job 31:21-23 (NIV) 
21  if I have raised my hand against the fatherless, knowing that I had influence in court,
22  then let my arm fall from the shoulder, let it be broken off at the joint.
23  For I dreaded destruction from God, and for fear of his splendor I could not do such things.

On verses 21-23:  In verses 16-22 Job denies taking advantage of the poor, the widow and the fatherless.  In verse 23 he says he did not sin in this way because of his fear of the Lord and the destruction that God could bring if he sinned in that way. It’s as if Job took seriously Jesus’ parable on the sheep and goats in Matthew 25:31-46 without even hearing it.  In that parable, Jesus describes himself as a King who rewards or punishes people based on how they treated the most vulnerable in society.  This parable is where Jesus famously says, “Whatever you did for one of the least of these brothers of mine, you did for me” (Matthew 25:40) and “whatever you did not do for one of the least of these, you did not do for me.’” (Matthew 25:45).

耶稣在迦百农

2020-02-19 in /by

马太福音4 :19  耶稣对他们说：「来跟从我，我要叫你们得人如得鱼一样。」

迦百农是在加利利湖边的一个小镇，在旧约时默默无闻，到了公元前二世纪才开始有人注意到她，那时她的名字是Capharnaum迦弗农，到了第五世纪才改为Capernaum迦百农；「迦百」翻译自英文的「Caper」，在希伯来文是Kefar，意思是村。「农」翻译自英文的「naum」，在希伯来文的意思是安慰；也有说Kefar Nahum，Nahum意指那鸿，所以是「那鸿的乡村」，但是无法查考这那鸿是否旧约里的先知那鸿。Talhum是她的阿拉伯名。

耶稣离开拿撒勒后，就来到约卅公里外的迦百农，若以时速4公里计算，大约要走七、八个小时。当时的迦百农并不是一个名不经传的地方，她座落在当时国际通道的中心。这条国际通道是从底加波利Decapolis到叙利亚Syria的主要公路，向南通到埃及，向西可以通到地中海沿岸的三个大港口：该撒利亚(Caesarea)，多利买(Ptolemais)，及推罗(Tyre)。

因为这条公路，迦百农成为一个从富庶的东方而来的驼商队之第一个休息站，并且从其西南方一带来的咸鱼，一定要先经过这里，然后才上往西的罗马公路，到地中海岸的多利买，而输出到欧洲。因此在迦百农很自然的就有一个税关(Custom House)，并且坐在税关上的一位税吏马太(或名利未)，后来竟然成为耶稣的十二门徒之一(路5:27-29)。

最近在迦百农发现一个「罗马里程碑」(Roman milestone)，也证明了「罗马道路」曾经经过这个城镇，也解释了为什么有一位罗马的百夫长，要住在以犹太人为主的迦百农(路7:1-10)。耶稣曾在这里医治了一位百夫长的仆人，并称赞百夫长的信心。

How Do You Know If You Are Lusting After Someone or Just Attracted to Them?

2020-02-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 31:1-20.  Let’s go! 

On verses 1-20:  Here in chapter 31, Job makes one last attempt to plead his innocence in different areas.  He even invites a curse to be placed on his life if indeed he is truly guilty of sin in any of those areas.

Job 31:1-4 (NIV) 
1  “I made a covenant with my eyes not to look lustfully at a girl. 
2  For what is man’s lot from God above, his heritage from the Almighty on high? 
3  Is it not ruin for the wicked, disaster for those who do wrong? 
4  Does he not see my ways and count my every step?
 
On verses 1-4:  Here Job denies ever having looked lustfully at a girl (v1).  Job says his reason for not doing so is because he knows that God sees everything he does (v4) and he would not want to invite disaster on himself by sinning in this way (v2-3).  What can we learn from this?  According to Job, and according to Jesus later in the Gospels (e.g. Matthew 5:28), looking lustfully at someone is sin.  What exactly does it mean to look at someone lustfully?  

Does God Make You Sick?

2020-02-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 30:16-31.  Let’s go! 

Job 30:16-19 (NIV) 
16  “And now my life ebbs away; days of suffering grip me. 
17  Night pierces my bones; my gnawing pains never rest. 
18  In his great power [God] becomes like clothing to me; he binds me like the neck of my garment. 
19  He throws me into the mud, and I am reduced to dust and ashes.

On verses 16-31:  Here Job complains about the significant physical pain he is in due to a disease he has contracted.  Some scholars believe this disease may have been a skin condition like pemphigus foliaceus.  According to the Bible Knowledge Commentary:

“[t]his disease, as attested by physicians today, matches the symptoms of Job’s afflictions—inflamed, ulcerous sores (Job 2:7), itching (v. 8), degenerative changes in facial skin

希律堡和齐波里

2020-02-17 in /by

约翰福音14:30 这世界的王将到；他在我里面是毫无所有。

圣经信仰所建立的权威，是因其信息和内容都建立于曾经真实发生过的事件之上。圣经里所记载的历史和背景也都有蹟可循。旧约学者布鲁格曼(Walter Brueggemann)说：：「在旧约当中，从没有『无时间的空间』，也没有『无空间的时间』，只有『蕴藏故事的地方』(storied place)，也就是说，一个地方之所以含意义，是因为发生在那里的历史。」

即使新约比较注重属灵的教导，也还是要以实地为本，去明白事件或教导的源头，以期更明白主的教导和神的心意。因此认识耶稣到过的地方可以帮助信徒更明白，所有耶稣的教导都不是空谈。

今天要来看两个耶稣没有去过的地方，却与基督教信仰有极深的关系。第一个是希律堡。希律堡建于主前23-20年，是大希律耗资最庞大的建筑项目，亦是他所兴建的所有项目中，唯一以自己名字命名的地方。

Watch Out for Mockers

2020-02-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 30:1-15.  Let’s go! 

On verses 1-15:  Job has gone from being someone whom others held in high esteem (see Job 29) to one whom others mock.  When Job looks at the people mocking him, he notices that they are men much younger than him, whose fathers were deadbeats whom he would never have associated with (v1-8), “a base and nameless brood” (v8).  The ones mocking Job mock him in song (v9) and spit in his face (v10) without any kind of restraint (v11).  Job describes his mockers in military terms, how they are like an army that besieges him (v12), leaving him without any road to exit or escape (“break up my road” – v13).  They advance against Job like an army attacking a city, the walls of which are already torn down with gaping holes (v14).  As a result, Job lives in terror, feeling unsafe and humiliated (v15).

耶稣在伯利恒

2020-02-16 in /by

约翰福音6:35耶稣说：「我就是生命的粮。到我这里来的，必定不饿；信我的，永远不渴。」

耶稣在伯利恒出生，为了躲避希律王追杀，跟父母逃到埃及；希律王死后，他们一家回到拿撒勒。之后，耶稣一生都在以色列国度过。 四福音书告诉我们，耶稣在祂生命的每个阶段都位于一个特定的位置，这些地点不是随机发生的，是出于神的命定和耶稣的选择。 这些地点都有希伯来文的名字，或许可以借着它们的名字，让我们对圣子的一生及其代表的意义有更深的理解。

伯利恒

耶稣降生在伯利恒，符合了先知弥迦的预言：「伯利恒以法他啊，你在犹大诸城中为小，将来必有一位从你那里出来，在以色列中为我做掌权的。祂的根源从亘古，从太初就有。(弥5:2)」以色列最伟大的君王大卫，也是在伯利恒出生。弥赛亚，以色列的救主和救世主也在这里出生，是再合适不过了。

若不是神激动该撒亚古士督要天下人民去注册，约瑟和玛利亚是绝对不会选在婴儿快要出生时远行的。神的旨意越人的意念，借着环境，神就完成了祂的定意。为了要让人明白这个婴儿的出生对世人之重要。

伯利恒的希伯来名是Beyt-lechem (בית לחם) means “house of bread” in Hebrew。在希伯来文的意思是：面包之屋。耶稣曾在这里用五饼二鱼喂饱了五千人(可6:44)，并在〈约翰福音〉里宣称：「我就是生命的粮。到我这里来的，必定不饿；信我的，永远不渴。」

Don’t Worship the Past

2020-02-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 29:1-25.  Let’s go! 

Job 29:2-6 (NIV) 
2  “How I long for the months gone by, for the days when God watched over me, 
3  when his lamp shone upon my head and by his light I walked through darkness! 
4  Oh, for the days when I was in my prime, when God’s intimate friendship blessed my house, 
5  when the Almighty was still with me and my children were around me, 
6  when my path was drenched with cream and the rock poured out for me streams of olive oil.
 
On verses 1-25:  Here Job longs achingly for the years that preceded all the loss and pain he experienced.  Those were the days when he felt God’s illuminating light and intimate friendship (v2-4), when his children were still with him and life was sweet (v5-6), when he had great status in the eyes of people (v7-11), when he helped the weak and poor (v12-17), when he was filled with confidence and hope about his future (v18-20), when people valued his counsel (v21-24), and when he enjoyed great power but was gentle in his exercise of it (v25).

世界的最初 Bereshit Olam

2020-02-14 in /by

今天要给大家介绍一首非常浪漫的情歌—从神来的情歌

「我必聘你永远归我为妻，以仁义、公平、慈爱、怜悯聘你归我；也以诚实*聘你归我，你就必认识我─耶和华。」(何 2:19-20)

一开始的美好，总是最让人怀念的。

分享一首超级浪漫的希伯来文流行歌–

《世界的最初 Bereshit Olam》 (附歌词)，真的觉得很美～

这是一首很有爱、又很有诗意的歌，

其实这首歌第一次听的时候，就是想到以色列是神的妻子，

花了多少代价，神却没有改变对她的爱
…………………………..请点入听歌……………………..

There, in the beginning,　   在那里，一开始，

Eve stood, lovingly, opposite Adam   夏娃带着爱，站在亚当对面

A helper opposite him, bone from his bone   他的帮手，骨中的骨

Then walks Adam    然后亚当走向

Towards she about whom he dreamed   他梦寐以求的人

On the head of his happiness, he will raise you up with him

在他幸福之最，他会让你与他同等

And he will not forget you, his beloved　他不会忘记她，他的爱人