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Let God Be the Judge of That

2019-12-27 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is James 4:11-17.  Let’s go!

James 4:11 (ESV) 
11  Do not speak evil against one another, brothers. The one who speaks against a brother or judges his brother, speaks evil against the law and judges the law. But if you judge the law, you are not a doer of the law but a judge.

On verse 11:  How is it that when I bad mouth someone and judge them I am bad mouthing God’s law and judging it?  It’s because when I bad mouth or judge another person, I am acting not in accordance with God’s law which tells me to not slander my neighbour and to love my neighbour as myself; rather I am acting in accordance with my own made up law which says, “JB is the judge and jury”.   When I bad mouth another person and break God’s law to not slander others, I send the message that God’s law at least in this case is not worth following and that instead I should follow my own law.   So by railing and ranting against people who we think have disobeyed God’s law, ironically and hypocritically we break God’s law ourselves and speak evil of the very law we think we’re holding other people accountable to.

诗篇一百十九篇97-104节

2019-12-26 in /by

ם Mem　（第13段）

97 我何等爱慕祢的律法，终日不住地思想。
98 祢的命令常存在我心里，使我比仇敌有智慧。
99 我比我的师傅更通达，因我思想祢的法度。
100 我比年老的更明白，因我守了祢的训词。
101 我禁止我脚走一切的邪路，为要遵守祢的话。
102 我没有偏离祢的典章，因为祢教训了我。
103 祢的言语在我上膛何等甘美，在我口中比蜜更甜！
104 我借着你的训词得以明白，所以我恨一切的假道。

在以色列人无法完成律法的要求时，为何诗人会爱慕神的律法，而终日不住地思想？律法中有哪些吸引他的地方？你能不能列举一些例子，为何神的话会吸引你呢？有没有哪一句话使你终日思想？最经常听到的分享就是诗篇23篇第一节，耶和华是我的牧者，我必不至缺乏。为什么呢？因为人最大的盼望就是不致缺乏！所以一唸就上心了。与人有利有益的事，人比较会上心，不然都是无所谓啦！诗人也是这样，他在神的律法中发现了好多秘密宝藏啊，使他快乐到终日不住地思想，希望能挖掘出更多宝贵的，隐密的信息。

他的第一个发现是，当他把神的命令放在心里时，他变得比仇敌更有智慧了。原来以为面对的敌人都很厉害，很可怕，可是当他的心里有神的话语时，他发现原来神在掌权，那些敌人变得一点都不可怕了。有一位在柬埔寨的宣教士说起在当地坐摩托计程车（摩的）的经历，起初感到非常可怕，但是当圣灵问她是否已经准备好随时回天家时，神就挪去了她的恐惧，让撒旦不能再惊吓她，因为生命的权柄在神的手里。她至今依然无恙。所以我们的心里若有恐惧时，你要记得神的话语安定在天，祂比万物都大，祂是掌管生命的神。

When You Ask But Don’t Receive

2019-12-26 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is James 4:1-10.  Let’s go!

James 4:1-2 (ESV) 
1  What causes quarrels and what causes fights among you? Is it not this, that your passions are at war within you? 
2  You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.
 
On verses 1-2:  James is saying that often times the reason why we slander, hurt and argue with the people around us is because there is something unhealthy going on inside of us. When we lust after things that don’t belong to us, when we envy what other people have, that unhealthy inside of us causes us to treat the people outside of us in unhealthy and hurtful ways.  Instead of looking to God for what we lack, we sit there, sulk and give others a hard time.

诗篇一百十九篇89-96节

2019-12-26 in /by

ל Lamed　（第12段）

89耶和华啊，祢的话安定在天，直到永远。
90祢的诚实存到万代，祢坚定了地，地就长存。
91天地照祢的安排存到今日，万物都是祢的仆役。
92我若不是喜爱祢的律法，早就在苦难中灭绝了。
93我永不忘记祢的训词，因祢用这训词将我救活了。
94我是属祢的，求祢救我，因我寻求了祢的训词。
95恶人等待我，要灭绝我，我却要揣摩祢的法度。
96我看万事尽都有限，唯有祢的命令极其宽广。

谁的话能安定在天，直到永远呢？除了创造宇宙的真神，谁有这份能耐呢？

这世界上万物的定律是不改变的：星辰和日月地球的运行，四季的循环，空气和水对人的重要性；生老病死，等等，都是永恒的定律，是神在创世时所定的；正如祂的话一样，永远不会改变。

神的话先是给摩西，再给以色列人，而后让圣灵放在我们心中，赐人悟性，又借着《圣经》让人明白祂的心意。所以神使用许多宣教士去翻译祂的话语。根据维基百科，《圣经》已经被译成超过两千多种语言，至今有超过90%的人可以用自己的母语阅读《圣经》。为何神要让这个工作继续下去？因为知道和明白神的话语是一件非常重要的事。这段经文只是诗篇119篇其中的一段，但是从我们读过的每一段，你都会发现，诗人认为这世界上最宝贵的就是神的话语，不管在怎样的情况下，他唯一谨守的就是神的话语。

How Do I Know If I’m Really Being Wise?

2019-12-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is James 3:13-18.  Let’s go!

James 3:13a (NIV) 
13  Who is wise and understanding among you? Let him show it by his good life…

On verse 13a:  Earlier James told his readers to ask God for wisdom (James 1:5).  Now James addresses the question: How do you know if a person is truly wise or not?  Here in verse 13 we learn that wisdom is not so much shown in what facts and figures a person can recite.   Rather, how much wisdom a person has is shown by the way that person lives and by the decisions that person makes.  Wisdom and being book smart are not the same thing.  Some people are book smart and can tell you all sorts of facts and figures, but when it comes to making life decisions, or handling relationships, time or money, they live very foolishly.  God calls us to be wise and understanding in practical ways that matter the most.

James 3:13b (NIV) 
13  …by deeds done in the humility that comes from wisdom.

诗篇一百十九篇81-88节

2019-12-25 in /by

ך Kaph（第11段）

81我心渴想祢的救恩，仰望祢的应许。
82我因盼望祢的应许眼睛失明，说：「祢何时安慰我？」
83我好像烟薰的皮袋，却不忘记祢的律例。
84祢仆人的年日有多少呢？祢几时向逼迫我的人施行审判呢？
85不从祢律法的骄傲人，为我掘了坑。
86祢的命令尽都诚实，他们无理地逼迫我，求祢帮助我。
87他们几乎把我从世上灭绝，但我没有离弃祢的训词。
88求祢照祢的慈爱将我救活，我就遵守祢口中的法度。

在这段经文里，诗人形容他好像烟薰的皮袋。烟薰的皮袋的什么意思？那是指在古代用来装水、盛酒或盛其他液体的容器，是用皮做的袋子。假如皮袋里装着水或酒时，冬天为了保暖，免于结冰，经常会挂在屋里的火炉旁，让炉子上升的烟使袋子里的液体保持液状且温暖，要喝时比较方便。如果屋子里没有烟囱，皮袋就会被烟熏得十分干燥且皱巴巴的。当诗人形容他好像烟薰的皮袋时，第一个提到的就是他的眼睛因而失明。

因为眼睛长久在烟薰之下无法张开，时时流泪，久而久之就看不见了。诗人盼望得着神的应许和救恩，但是敌人的逼迫使他日日以泪洗面，无法看见他的拯救。敌人怎样对付他呢？一是逼迫，二是为他掘坑，意思就是要把他置于死地，甚至活埋；三是要把他灭绝。诗人的心里很苦，因为眼睛都看不到出路，根本无路可走，只能仰望神。在等待神的救恩时，他好像一个烟薰的皮袋，不停地被烟的热气弄得又干又疼，却无法挪移。

The Power of Your Tongue

2019-12-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is James 3:1-12.  Let’s go!

James 3:1 (NIV) 
1  Not many of you should presume to be teachers, my brothers, because you know that we who teach will be judged more strictly.

On verse 1:  Some love the limelight that comes with being a teacher of God’s Word, but with the power of the podium comes great responsibility.  Teachers of God’s Word are often looked to as examples of how Christians should act and live.  That’s why if you want to teach God’s Word with effectiveness and longevity, your character in private needs to exceed your charisma on stage.

James 3:2 (NIV) 
2  We all stumble in many ways. If anyone is never at fault in what he says, he is a perfect man, able to keep his whole body in check.

On verse 2:  This verse teaches us two important truths.  First, none of us is perfect – “we all stumble in many ways”.   Second, when you are careful with your words, you keep yourself from getting into unnecessary trouble (or, in James’ words, you keep your body in check).  As Proverbs 13:3 says, “He who guards his lips guards his life, but he who speaks rashly will come to ruin.”

诗篇一百十九篇73-80节

2019-12-23 in /by

י Yod（第十段）

73祢的手制造我，建立我，求祢赐我悟性，可以学习祢的命令。
74敬畏祢的人见我就要欢喜，因我仰望祢的话。
75耶和华啊，我知道祢的判语是公义的，祢使我受苦是以诚实待我。
76求祢照着应许仆人的话，以慈爱安慰我。
77愿祢的慈悲临到我，使我存活，因祢的律法是我所喜爱的。
78愿骄傲人蒙羞，因为他们无理地倾覆我，但我要思想祢的训词。
79愿敬畏祢的人归向我，他们就知道祢的法度。
80愿我的心在祢的律例上完全，使我不致蒙羞。

这段经文是从希伯来文字母的Yod开始，Yod是希伯来语albet的第十个字母，它也是一只手的象形文字。更切确地说，yod是全能者“手”的象形文字，它代表着神那双隐藏的手不断地在引导我们，有时放在我们的肩膀上推动我们往前行，有时安慰鼓励我们，祂的手总是与我们同在。

今天是12月24日，这个Yod字使我联想到「以马内利」，那位应许与我们同在的神，弥赛亚耶稣基督就在两千多年前诞生，成为世人的救主。因此这个Yod字在今天特别有意义。神的手不仅制造我们，建立我们，还赐给我们悟性，可以学习神的命令。神的同在不是一天两天，而是每一天，是永远。祂要用手引导我们。

Is Having Faith in Jesus Enough to Save You?

2019-12-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is James 2:14-26.  Let’s go!

On verses 14-26:  What a powerful and hard-hitting passage.  How do you reconcile this passage with other famous passages in the Bible like Ephesians 2:8 which clearly teach that “it is by grace you have been saved, through faith…not by works so that no one can boast”?  Is James saying here that you can earn your way to heaven by your own good works?  No.  Is he questioning whether faith in Jesus can really save you?  No.  Rather, here James is defining what real saving faith in Christ looks like.  If someone has real saving faith in Christ, that faith will express itself through action.  Anyone can say, “Jesus is my Saviour”, but whether or not that person truly believes that Jesus is their Saviour will become evident in how that person lives. 

James is not saying that you need to live a perfect Christian life before it can be concluded that you have true saving faith. (As James will later write in chapter 3, “we all stumble in many ways” (James 3:2)).  

诗篇一百十九篇65-72节

2019-12-23 in /by

ט Teth　（第九段）

65耶和华啊，祢向来是照祢的话善待仆人。
66求祢将精明和知识赐给我，因我信了祢的命令。
67我未受苦以先走迷了路，现在却遵守祢的话。
68祢本为善，所行的也善，求祢将祢的律例教训我。
69骄傲人编造谎言攻击我，我却要一心守祢的训词。
70他们心蒙脂油，我却喜爱祢的律法。
71我受苦是与我有益，为要使我学习祢的律例。
72祢口中的训言与我有益，胜于千万的金银。

在这段经文里，给我最大的感受是71节: 「我受苦是与我有益，为要使我学习祢的律例」。谁都不喜欢受苦，可是苦痛却是人生真正的福，因为没有受苦，往往不能得到真正的利益。

我第一次对这句话有感受是在牙医诊所洗牙之后。因为洗牙时要忍受机器吱吱叫，然后有时弄到牙龈时会敏感，全身都酸麻。不过，我知道这样的受苦于我有益，免得牙齿或牙龈有更大的问题出现。

Paul Brand医生写过一本书, 痛苦是人生最大的祝福。他是一位医治痲疯病人的专家，医治过无数的痲疯病人。他发现疾病本身并不可怕，可怕的是病毒使身体的神经失去功能，以致感受不到痛觉，而痛觉恰恰是神给身体最大的保护。当手没有痛觉时,拿再烫的东西也不知道，就会被烧伤；踼到重物或被压到也不知道，以致受伤。因此他写书让人明白，痛是一样神给人何等宝贵的礼物。