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The Two Sides of Wisdom

2020-01-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 11:1-12.  Let’s go!
 
Job 11:7 (NIV) 
7  “Can you fathom the mysteries of God? Can you probe the limits of the Almighty?
 
On verses 1-12:  Here Zophar the Naamathite, Job’s third friend, chimes in.  Like Eliphaz and Bildad before him, Zophar’s first words are heavy in judgment and light on grace.  To paraphrase Zophar’s words to Job, “Will no one rebut your idle talk and rebuke your self-proclaimed innocence (v2-4)?  I wish God would speak right now and shut you up, because the fact is God is punishing you less than you deserve (v5-6).  God is so much bigger than you.  Don’t even try to measure His dimensions (v7-9).  If He tries you in His court, you wouldn’t stand a chance (v10).  He sees right through deceitful men and takes note of what evil people do (v11).  But stupid people will become wise about the same time that donkeys give birth to humans (v12).”

What can we learn from this?  Here we must separate the wheat from the chaff in what Zophar says.

Zophar is correct in saying that:

詩篇一百廿九篇

2020-01-17 in /by

上行之詩。

1 以色列當說：「從我幼年以來，敵人屢次苦害我。
2 從我幼年以來，敵人屢次苦害我，卻沒有勝了我。
3 如同扶犁的在我背上扶犁而耕，耕的犁溝甚長。」
4 耶和華是公義的，祂砍斷了惡人的繩索。
5 願恨惡錫安的都蒙羞退後！
6 願他們像房頂上的草，未長成而枯乾，
7 收割的不夠一把，捆禾的也不滿懷，
8 過路的也不說：「願耶和華所賜的福歸於你們，我們奉耶和華的名給你們祝福！」

讀了幾首上行之詩很有感慨，感受到以色列人去敬拜神的時候，一路仰望著遠高處的耶路撒冷，一面思想神的恩典和神的關係。不像我們現在去教會，大多是忙著找停車的位置，忙著和人打招呼，一心都是忙，思想的都不是和神有關的事情。

當以色列人朝拜神時，前塵往事都上心頭，一件件在心裡湧現，所有的壓力和苦情，和天父每一次的拯救，交織成了他們的生命。從歷史來看，以色列人從出埃及後就不斷面臨爭戰，撒旦藉著無數敵人想要消滅神的選民。

當他們倚靠神時，神就成為他們的力量，戰無不勝，攻無不克；但是當他們轉去拜偶像，情假意地敬拜神時，就失去力量，被敵所制。他們屢次轉回，神就拯救他們，因此他們才能說：「敵人屢次苦害我，卻沒有勝了我」，但是留在他們背上有如犁溝的傷痕，卻是他們遠離神被敵人苦待的見證。

It Matters How You Question God

2020-01-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 10:1-22.  Let’s go!
 
Job 10:1-2 (NIV) 
1  “I loathe my very life; therefore I will give free rein to my complaint and speak out in the bitterness of my soul. 
2  I will say to God: Do not condemn me, but tell me what charges you have against me.
 
On verses 1-2:  Because Job hated his life, he had no problems complaining, being bitter and questioning God.  When a person is constantly complaining and bitter, you know there is something unhealthy going on in their heart.  As Jesus says, “out of the heart the mouth speaks” (Matthew 12:34).  What comes out of one’s mouth is a reflection of what’s going on inside their heart.  So if you want to change your speech, it starts with letting God change your heart.
 

詩篇一百廿八篇

2020-01-16 in /by

上行之詩。

1 凡敬畏耶和華、遵行祂道的人便為有福！
2 你要吃勞碌得來的，你要享福，事情順利。
3 你妻子在你的內室，好像多結果子的葡萄樹；你兒女圍繞你的桌子，好像橄欖栽子。
4 看哪，敬畏耶和華的人，必要這樣蒙福。
5 願耶和華從錫安賜福給你！願你一生一世看見耶路撒冷的好處，
6 願你看見你兒女的兒女！願平安歸於以色列！

2020年的春節快到了，巿面上的〈福〉也大行其道。人人都渴望有福，拜佛的人爭著去廟裡拿頭香，甚至還有人去，幫忙佔位賣黃牛票，因為他們相信這頭香可以帶來一年的好運和平安，這好運主要是指財運。

世人渴求福氣，聖經也講福氣。但是真正的福氣是什麼？人所追求的福氣和神所說的福氣是否一樣？在中國古書上記載了五福：一曰壽、二曰富、三曰康寧、四曰修好德、五曰考的終命（《書經洪范》）。 ‘長壽’是指命不夭折而且福壽綿長；‘富貴’是錢財富足而且地位尊貴；‘康寧’是身體健康而且心靈安寧；‘好德’是生性仁善而且寬厚寧靜；‘善終’是能預先知道自己的死期。臨命終時，沒有遭遇橫禍，身體沒有病痛，心裡沒有掛慮和煩惱，安詳且自在地離開人間。

詩篇一百廿七篇

2020-01-16 in /by

所羅門上行之詩。

1 若不是耶和華建造房屋，建造的人就枉然勞力；若不是耶和華看守城池，看守的人就枉然警醒。
2 你們清晨早起，夜晚安歇，吃勞碌得來的飯，本是枉然；唯有耶和華所親愛的，必叫他安然睡覺。
3 兒女是耶和華所賜的產業，所懷的胎是祂所給的賞賜。
4 少年時所生的兒女，好像勇士手中的箭。
5 箭袋充滿的人便為有福！他們在城門口和仇敵說話的時候，必不至於羞愧。

記得有人在作見證時，提及在家裡做謝飯禱告時，尚未信主的父親非常生氣，為什麼他辛苦賺錢養家，孩子有飯吃卻在感謝耶穌？也有朋友說，他們一生勤奮，所得財富都是自己一汗一血換來的，為什麼要感謝那看也看不見的神？

去年我們家附近興蓋一間老人院，眼看就要建成，突然在一夜之間被燒得精光。溫哥華六層樓以下的建築多是木頭，所以一起火便燒得很快。我們看電影時，也經常看到放哨的人被殺掉，因為敵人來得不知不覺。

有很多行業的人在開張或開始時，都要拜拜，他們相信他們的工作和平安都需要鬼神的保護，尤其是電影界的，他們希望不要受到鬼神的打擾，希望一切順利。假如不信神的人都相信靈界有力量影響他們要做的事情，那麼相信有真神的人，豈不更應明白神在我們的工作上之主權和重要性？

Your Story Spoiler Alert

2020-01-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Job 9:25-26 (NIV) 
25  “My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away without a glimpse of joy.
26  They skim past like boats of papyrus, like eagles swooping down on their prey.

On verses 25-26:  For a lot of people, when they are in pain, time moves very slowly – minutes feel like hours, days feel like months, and months feel like years. So why is it that Job, who is in great pain, says, “My days are swifter than a runner; they fly away” (v25).  I believe that is because Job has gone from the prime of his life to nearing his death so quickly.  For Job, it’s as if decades have passed in just a few days.

Job 9:27-28 (NIV) 
27  If I say, ‘I will forget my complaint, I will change my expression, and smile,’
28  I still dread all my sufferings, for I know you will not hold me innocent.

On verses 27-28:  For Job, trying to cheer himself up and choosing to be joyful is little use when he believes that in the end, God is going to punish him for his sin (v27-28).

詩篇一百廿六篇

2020-01-14 in /by

上行之詩。

1 當耶和華將那些被擄的帶回錫安的時候，我們好像做夢的人。
2 我們滿口喜笑、滿舌歡呼的時候，外邦中就有人說：「耶和華為他們行了大事！」
3 耶和華果然為我們行了大事，我們就歡喜。
4 耶和華啊，求祢使我們被擄的人歸回，好像南地的河水復流。
5 流淚撒種的，必歡呼收割。
6 那帶種流淚出去的，必要歡歡樂樂地帶禾捆回來。

在南國猶大被巴比倫滅掉以先，先知耶利米曾預言，七十年後，神要讓那些被擄的人歸回。七十年，是一段十分漫長的時間，猶大人被擄到遠離家鄉的巴比倫，在那裡重新立下根基，重建家業。有點像現代人移民到不同的國家。經過七十年，都變成華僑或猶僑了。生活一旦穩定，還想回去那千瘡百孔的老家嗎？感覺上，那是屬於祖輩的地方，再也不是自己的地方了。

但是當聖靈感動人的時候，當神要動工時，祂就會喚醒那些人心靈裡最深的渴望：回家，歸家，回到那塊神為我們定意之地，重建靈魂的故鄉。就這樣，大約有五萬人跟著所羅巴伯等人回到了迦南地。

那時沒有飛機，也沒有火車或汽車，那些人都是步行或騎牲畜。回想被鎖鏈銬住帶到巴比倫時，再想想可以自由身，又帶著財產回到故鄉，真是此一時也彼一時，彷彿做了一個好長的夢，夢醒人都老了。

The Greatest Proof That God Is Good

2020-01-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Job 9:13-24.  Let’s go!

On verses 13-24: Job feels helpless before God. In his great pain, Job sees God not as a loving Father but as an angry beast fiercer than monsters of the deep like Rahab (not Rahab the prostitute in the book of Joshua but Rahab, being the name for the Egyptian crocodile) (v13).  In Job’s eyes, God is a merciless powerhouse with whom you cannot reason or argue (v15-16).  He is like a UFC opponent who beats Job into submission and multiplies his wounds for no reason (v17), a God who is relentless in making life miserable for Job (v18). His strength cannot be matched (v19), His justice cannot be questioned (v19) and He is so sovereign and holy that even to try to speak to Him about your innocence would be a foolish and self-condemning act (v20). 

Hating life (v21), Job questions what good it is to try to live blamelessly, especially when “He destroys both the blameless and the wicked” (v22). Job also questions how good God really is.  He describes God as one who laughs at the suffering of the innocent (v23) and who gets in the way of the administration of justice, One who “blindfolds judges”.

詩篇一百廿五篇

2020-01-13 in /by

上行之詩。

1 倚靠耶和華的人好像錫安山，永不動搖。
2 眾山怎樣圍繞耶路撒冷，耶和華也照樣圍繞祂的百姓，從今時直到永遠。
3 惡人的杖不常落在義人的份上，免得義人伸手作惡。
4 耶和華啊，求祢善待那些為善和心裡正直的人。
5 至於那偏行彎曲道路的人，耶和華必使他和作惡的人一同出去受刑。願平安歸於以色列！

錫安山是耶路撒冷老城南部一座山的名稱。這個詞在《聖經》中首先用於形容大衛城( 《代下》5:2 ; 《代下》11:5; 《撒下》5:7; 《王上》8:1 )，後來用於聖殿山，現在被用作古代耶路撒冷西山的名字。當詩人舉頭觀看，回想大衛王怎樣戰勝耶布斯人，神怎樣保守這塊地，不生免生出許多讚嘆。錫安代表神的居所，就是神與祂子民相會的地方。耶路撒冷常與錫安合用，代表彌賽亞要在那裡作王掌權，凡被贖的子民都要與祂一同顯現在榮耀裡。

“眾山怎樣圍繞耶路撒冷，耶和華也照樣圍繞祂的百姓”，耶路撒冷的地勢：耶路撒冷位於以色列中央山脈最高處的平台上，海拔約750公尺。東有汲淪溪，西邊和南邊是欣嫩溪，三面溪底和城的高差在40至80公尺之間。城區包括五座山頭，東南有俄斐勒山，東有摩利亞山，東北有貝西大山，西北有亞克拉山，西南有錫安山。城的東邊有橄欖山，群山環繞成為屏障，外敵接近不易，但交通十分便利，是天然的統治中心。詩人用群山圍繞耶路撒冷來形容神對我們的愛，也是指出我們若肯倚靠神，就可以蒙保守；反之，我們若不倚靠神，要憑自己的血氣去抵抗，那麼一定會失敗。沒有了群山環繞的耶路撒冷，就有如其他平地的城鎮一樣容易攻取，防不勝防。

Hollywood Theology

2020-01-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Job 9:2-4 (NIV) 
2  “Indeed, I know that this is true. But how can a mortal be righteous before God? 
3  Though one wished to dispute with him, he could not answer him one time out of a thousand. 
4  His wisdom is profound, his power is vast. Who has resisted him and come out unscathed?
 
On verses 1-12:  In these verses Job is asking a very important question: “how can mere mortals prove their innocence before God?” (v2)  The answer is we can’t.  Job knows that.  God’s power, wisdom and standards are so beyond our own that there is no way we could ever compare or come close.  But the amazing message of the Bible is that when there was no way we could possibly prove ourselves innocent in God’s sight, in love God sent Jesus Christ His Son – fully God and fully man – to die on the cross for our sins.  In so doing, at the cross God’s need for justice was satisfied while His mercy and forgiveness could be extended to us. It’s only because of God’s mercy expressed through Jesus Christ that we can be righteous and innocent before God.