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4 Consequences of Being Money Obsessed

2020-02-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 27:13-23.  Let’s go!

Job 27:13-23 (NIV) 
13  “Here is the fate God allots to the wicked, the heritage a ruthless man receives from the Almighty:
14  However many his children, their fate is the sword; his offspring will never have enough to eat.
15  The plague will bury those who survive him, and their widows will not weep for them.
16  Though he heaps up silver like dust and clothes like piles of clay,
17  what he lays up the righteous will wear, and the innocent will divide his silver………

On verse 13:  Here Job begins to describe what happens to the person who spends their life chasing wealth but who does not trust or obey God’s commands.  In the verses that follow Job will describe four consequences that happen to those whose number one obsession is getting rich.

Ahava 愛的真義

2020-02-13 in /by

雅歌1:4   我們必因你歡喜快樂，我們要稱讚你的愛情，勝似稱讚美酒。

“We rejoice and delight in you; we will praise your love more than wine.”  (Song of Songs 1:4)

情人節的活動起源於，對一位在羅馬殉道的天主教神父華倫泰(Valentine)的記念，因為當時的羅馬皇帝禁止男人結婚，要他們專心當兵；但是華倫泰無視禁令，仍然為年輕人舉行婚禮，後來在公元269年2月14日被斬首。

就像大多數的假期一樣，記念華倫泰的活動變成了商人謀財的契機，妨間的卡片、鮮花和巧克力大行其道。但是真正的愛遠遠王止於糖果或鮮花，因此今天我們要通過這個古老的希伯來文Ahava來理解神對‘愛’的教導。

希伯來語中的愛這個詞-ahava（אהבה），由三個基本的希伯來字母組成：aleph（א），hey（ה）和vet（ב）。

從a-hav-a的這三個根字母中，我們得到根詞hav（הב），hav表示給予。這字根包含了一個真理，付出便是愛的根本，也就是愛的基礎。夫妻之間的愛情是互相給予的， 我們對伴侶的投入越多，聯繫就越牢固，愛就越深。

在起初

2020-02-12 in /by

創世記1:1  起初，神創造天地。

今天開始我們暫停一下系列性的查經靈修，改為每日一句的靈修，假如我們每天可以記住一句經文，一年就可以記住365句了。我們會參考《以色列聖經學院》的經文解釋，從希伯來文的背景去理解神的話。

在希伯來文的‘起初Beresheet’, 有一個隱藏的意思在其中。

英文《聖經》一般都把它譯為In The Beginning (在起初)，這並不十分正確，在希伯來原文裡，這個字更加有意思。《聖經》裡的第一個希伯來文是beresheet,  意思是“at the heading”，在頭之處。

頭指的不只是身體的最上面，並且是全身最有智慧，人類身份的核心。

《聖經》給人類的信息是：神創造天地是一個智慧的，有計劃去做的過程，而不是一個隨機發生的錯誤。因此閱讀《聖經》絕不應僅僅是閱讀行為， 而必須是一種智力活動。 為了使《聖經》深入人心，我們都需要動腦筋。

當我們如此開始讀神的話語時，我們就會明白，相信耶和華神絕對不是迷信，而是一個相當科學和理智的過程。雖然有很多事情我們暫時不能明白，也因而讓我們認識到人的智慧有限，應當把信心放在那位無所不能的神身上，讓祂成為我們的頭，讓祂的智慧也啟發我們跟隨祂的決心。

Leave It to the Holy Spirit to Do THAT

2020-02-12 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 27:1-12. Let’s go!

Job 27:1-12 (NIV) 
1  And Job continued his discourse:
2  “As surely as God lives, who has denied me justice, the Almighty, who has made me taste bitterness of soul,
3  as long as I have life within me, the breath of God in my nostrils,
4  my lips will not speak wickedness, and my tongue will utter no deceit.
5  I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity……..

On verses 1-12:  After his friends have repeatedly tried to convince Job that he has sinned and needs to repent, here in these verses Job is more adamant than ever about his innocence.  As he says in verses 5-6, “I will never admit you are in the right; till I die, I will not deny my integrity. I will maintain my righteousness and never let go of it; my conscience will not reproach me as long as I live.”  Later on, when God appears to Job and speaks to him directly, Job will repent.  But until God appears to him personally, Job will not budge no matter how much his friends try to accuse him.

詩篇一百五十篇

2020-02-12 in /by

1你們要讚美耶和華！在神的聖所讚美祂，在他顯能力的穹蒼讚美祂！

2 要因他大能的作為讚美祂，按著他極美的大德讚美祂！

3 要用角聲讚美祂，鼓瑟彈琴讚美祂，

4 擊鼓跳舞讚美祂，用絲弦的樂器和簫的聲音讚美祂，

5 用大響的鈸讚美祂，用高聲的鈸讚美祂。

6 凡有氣息的都要讚美耶和華！你們要讚美耶和華！

這是詩篇的最後一篇，經過了將近五個月的時間，我們終於讀完一次〈詩篇〉。假如這不是你的第一次，希望也不會是最後一次。在〈詩篇〉第150篇，所有的讚美和頌讚都達到高潮。

讚美從神的聖所開始，其次是神顯能力的穹蒼正如〈約伯記〉第38章所記，當神在創造宇宙時，“晨星一同歌唱，神的眾子也都歡呼”。耶穌最後一次進耶路撒冷時，眾人歡呼，法利賽人因此而不高興， 耶穌卻說：“若是祂們閉口不說，這些石頭必要呼叫起來！”（路19:40）。

The Whisper of God

2020-02-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 25:1-26:14. Let’s go!

Job 25:1-6 (NIV) 
1  Then Bildad the Shuhite replied: 
2  “Dominion and awe belong to God; he establishes order in the heights of heaven. 
3  Can his forces be numbered? Upon whom does his light not rise? 
4  How then can a man be righteous before God? How can one born of woman be pure? 
5  If even the moon is not bright and the stars are not pure in his eyes, 
6  how much less man, who is but a maggot– a son of man, who is only a worm!”
 
On verses 1-6: To paraphrase Bildad, “Who are you, Job, to think that you can prove yourself righteous in God’s eyes?  No human being is pure before God.”

詩篇一百四十九篇

2020-02-11 in /by

1你們要讚美耶和華！向耶和華唱新歌，在聖民的會中讚美祂！
2 願以色列因造他的主歡喜，願錫安的民因他們的王快樂！
3 願他們跳舞讚美祂的名，擊鼓彈琴歌頌祂！
4 因為耶和華喜愛祂的百姓，祂要用救恩當做謙卑人的裝飾。
5 願聖民因所得的榮耀高興，願他們在床上歡呼！
6 願他們口中稱讚神為高，手裡有兩刃的刀，
7 為要報復列邦，刑罰萬民。
8 要用鏈子捆他們的君王，用鐵鐐鎖他們的大臣，
9 要在他們身上施行所記錄的審判。祂的聖民都有這榮耀。你們要讚美耶和華！

以色列人希望能安然地住在神所賜給他們的迦南地，可是因著他們屢次離開神，得罪神，轉去拜偶像，以致於神興起外邦人攻擊他們，使他們無法享受像所羅門時代的太平盛世。所羅門王的末期也是因為隨著妃嬪去拜偶像，以致神興起敵人，在他死後撕裂王國。

也因為有時被敵人所制，所以在轉向神，蒙神祝福後就又享受到一些太平盛世時，便時時記得錫安的好處。不知道你有沒有看過以色列人跳舞歌唱的盛況，那真的是名符其實的載歌載舞，實在是開心至極。神愛以色列人，神也愛我們，神希望我們都活在祂的恩典，時時享受祂的福蔭。但是神也用歷史提醒我們，有時人在福中不知福，就忘了賜福的神。

When Job Met Peter

2020-02-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 24:1-25.  Let’s go!

Job 24:1-17 (NIV) 
1  “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment? Why must those who know him look in vain for such days?
2  Men move boundary stones; they pasture flocks they have stolen.
3  They drive away the orphan’s donkey and take the widow’s ox in pledge.
4  They thrust the needy from the path and force all the poor of the land into hiding.
5  Like wild donkeys in the desert, the poor go about their labor of foraging food; the wasteland provides food for their children……..

On verses 1-17:  Job sees so much injustice around him – people stealing others’ property (v2), taking advantage of the weak and poor (v3-8), and causing the most vulnerable in society to suffer the most (v9-12).  Job sees murder (v14), adultery (v15), robberies (v16), people reveling in the darkness and avoiding the light (v16-17).  In the face of all this injustice, Job questions why “God charges no one with wrongdoing” (v12) and “Why does the Almighty not set times for judgment?” (v1)

詩篇一百四十八篇

2020-02-09 in /by

1你們要讚美耶和華！從天上讚美耶和華，在高處讚美祂！
2 祂的眾使者都要讚美祂，祂的諸軍都要讚美祂！
3 日頭月亮，你們要讚美祂！放光的星宿，你們都要讚美祂！
4 天上的天和天上的水，你們都要讚美祂！
5 願這些都讚美耶和華的名，因祂一吩咐便都造成。
6 祂將這些立定，直到永永遠遠；祂定了命，不能廢去。
7 所有在地上的，大魚和一切深洋，
8 火與冰雹，雪和霧氣，成就祂命的狂風，
9 大山和小山，結果的樹木和一切香柏樹，
10 野獸和一切牲畜，昆蟲和飛鳥，
11 世上的君王和萬民，首領和世上一切審判官，
12 少年人和處女，老年人和孩童，都當讚美耶和華！
13 願這些都讚美耶和華的名，因為獨有祂的名被尊崇，祂的榮耀在天地之上。
14 祂將祂百姓的角高舉，因此祂一切聖民以色列人，就是與祂相近的百姓，都讚美祂。你們要讚美耶和華！

這一首讚美詩分為兩部份，第一部份是天上的使者和天軍對神的讚美；第二部份是人類對神的讚美。雖然這兩部份都讚美耶和華的名，但是在實質上有何不同呢？

在第一部份神命定祂的創造：眾使者，神的諸軍，日頭月亮，放光的星宿，天上的天和天上的水，都被命定要讚美神，因為耶和華神是它們的創造者，它們好像機器人被安置了設計好的程式，都要讚美神，不能廢去。

You Can’t See God and Be His Enemy at the Same Time

2020-02-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 23:1-9 (NIV)

1  Then Job replied: 
2  “Even today my complaint is bitter; his hand is heavy in spite of my groaning. 
3  If only I knew where to find him; if only I could go to his dwelling! 
4  I would state my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments. 
5  I would find out what he would answer me, and consider what he would say. 
6  Would he oppose me with great power? No, he would not press charges against me. 
7  There an upright man could present his case before him, and I would be delivered forever from my judge.
8  “But if I go to the east, he is not there; if I go to the west, I do not find him. 
9  When he is at work in the north, I do not see him; when he turns to the south, I catch no glimpse of him. 

On verses 1-9:  Job wants to have a word with God.  Job thinks that if he could argue his case before God, plead his innocence, and convince God that he is upright, God would come to His senses and see that Job is not deserving of such suffering.  Job’s only problem, in his mind at least, is that he can’t find God.