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4 Reasons Why Jesus’ New Covenant is Better than Moses’ Old Covenant

2019-10-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hebrews 8:1-13. Let’s go!

Hebrews 8:1-2 (NIV)
1 The point of what we are saying is this: We do have such a high priest, who sat down at the right hand of the throne of the Majesty in heaven,
2 and who serves in the sanctuary, the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not by man.

On verses 1-5: Here the writer of Hebrews notes that the location where Jesus now serves as our high priest is in heaven (v1-2), while priests who are appointed by the law of Moses serve on earth (v4). The sanctuary and tabernacle where these earthly priests would serve are an imperfect “copy and shadow of what is in heaven”, while the heavenly sanctuary where Jesus serves is “the true tabernacle set up by the Lord, not man” (v2). It’s a reminder for me that as much as we try to help create our excellent worship experiences each weekend for people at Thrive, they are just a shadow and an imperfect copy of what worshiping Jesus will be like when we get to heaven. The best really is yet to come!

詩篇七十三篇

2019-10-20 in /by

亞薩的詩。

1 神實在恩待以色列那些清心的人。
2 至於我，我的腳幾乎失閃，我的腳險些滑跌。
3 我見惡人和狂傲人享平安，就心懷不平。
4 他們死的時候沒有疼痛，他們的力氣卻也壯實。
5 他們不像別人受苦，也不像別人遭災。
6 所以驕傲如鏈子戴在他們的項上，強暴像衣裳遮住他們的身體。
7 他們的眼睛因體胖而凸出，他們所得的過於心裡所想的。
8 他們譏笑人，憑惡意說欺壓人的話，他們說話自高。
9 他們的口褻瀆上天，他們的舌毀謗全地。
10 所以神的民歸到這裡，喝盡了滿杯的苦水。……

著名的福音派作家楊腓力說，人類所有的疑問，都可以在《聖經》中找到答案。這不是一句隨便說的大話，而是當人讀《聖經》時，神就親自開啟我們的靈，賜給我們亮光和悟性可以明白許多事情。反之，你若不讀《聖經》，卻自以為是地批評《聖經》，那你就一直活在黑暗裡，被那些不明白的事情困擾。

詩人亞薩曾經像我們一樣，看到惡人和狂傲人享平安，就心懷不平。他覺得平常努力潔淨自己的心思意念都是白做了，若是神不懲罰惡人，惡人在世反而財富加添，得享幸福，那麼我為何不也去行惡？為何要保守自己，反而遭災？

詩篇七十二篇

2019-10-18 in /by

所羅門的詩。

1 神啊，求祢將判斷的權柄賜給王，將公義賜給王的兒子。
2 他要按公義審判你的民，按公平審判祢的困苦人。
3 大山小山，都要因公義使民得享平安。
4 他必為民中的困苦人申冤，拯救窮乏之輩，壓碎那欺壓人的。
5 太陽還存，月亮還在，人要敬畏祢，直到萬代。
6 他必降臨，像雨降在已割的草地上，如甘霖滋潤田地。
7 在他的日子義人要發旺，大有平安，好像月亮長存。
8 他要執掌權柄，從這海直到那海，從大河直到地極。
9 住在曠野的必在他面前下拜，他的仇敵必要舔土。
10 他施和海島的王要進貢，示巴和西巴的王要獻禮物。……

〈詩篇〉第72篇是第二卷〈詩篇〉的最後一篇。聖經學者把整部〈詩篇〉分成五卷，並且按著內容它們做了以下的分類：第一卷：1至41篇（詩篇的創世紀），第二卷：42至72篇（詩篇的出埃及記），第三卷：73至89篇（詩篇的利未記），第四卷： 90至106篇（詩篇的民數記），第五卷：107至150篇（詩篇的申命記）。要找出分類的原始出處並不容易，可能只是其中有幾篇可以歸類。

這一篇前面註明是所羅門的詩，在末後的一節卻寫是耶西的兒子大衛的禱告。所以一般有兩種看法：一是大衛年邁時所唸，由所羅門記錄下來；二是大衛為所羅門所做的祈禱。

神揀選所羅門做王（代上28:5-7），大衛因而把王位傳給所羅門。其他的王子曾經覬覦王位，也都有所行動。大衛的長子暗嫩因為強姦三子押沙龍的妹妹他瑪，被押沙龍設計殺死；聖經沒有提到二子的去向。三子就是押沙龍，

Jesus, Priest Like No Other

2019-10-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hebrews 7:20-28.  Let’s go!

Hebrews 7:21 (NIV) 
21  but he became a priest with an oath when God said to him: “The Lord has sworn and will not change his mind: ‘You are a priest forever.'” 

On verses 20-21:  In a court of law, before a witness takes the stand, the witness makes a solemn promise, swearing to tell the truth.  This is called an oath.  The oath is meant to show that the person speaking is completely serious and sincere about the words he or she is about to speak and that his hearers can count on what he or she is saying. Likewise, when God spoke words to appoint Jesus as a priest, God swore an oath to show how serious and sincere He was about the pronouncement He was making.

Whereas others naturally became priests by being born into the tribe of Levi, Jesus supernaturally became a priest by way of God’s oath or promise.  It’s similar to what happened with Abraham’s two sons, Ishmael and Isaac.   First there was Ishmael who was conceived in an ordinary, natural, man-made way.  But then came Isaac, who was conceived supernaturally as the result of God’s promise (see Romans 9:9 and Galatians 4:23).  Jesus became a priest because of a promise.

詩篇七十一篇

2019-10-17 in /by

1耶和華啊，我投靠祢，求祢叫我永不羞愧。
2 求祢憑祢的公義搭救我，救拔我；側耳聽我，拯救我。
3 求祢做我常住的磐石，祢已經命定要救我，因為祢是我的巖石，我的山寨。
4 我的神啊，求祢救我脫離惡人的手，脫離不義和殘暴之人的手。
5 主耶和華啊，祢是我所盼望的，從我年幼祢是我所倚靠的。
6 我從出母胎被你扶持，使我出母腹的是祢，我必常常讚美祢。
7 許多人以我為怪，但祢是我堅固的避難所。
8 祢的讚美，祢的榮耀，終日必滿了我的口。
9 我年老的時候，求祢不要丟棄我；我力氣衰弱的時候，求祢不要離棄我。
10 我的仇敵議論我，那些窺探要害我命的彼此商議，……

這詩篇顯然是大衛王年老時所寫，雖然沒有作者名字，但是猶太人認為這詩的作者是大衛王。大衛王把他在母腹時蒙神扶持，一直到年邁時的光景，用這樣短短的詩篇來記念來感恩，更附上年邁時的需求，他真是一位寫詩高手。

大衛在年邁時再一次向神祈求：“耶和華啊，我投靠祢，求祢叫我永不羞愧。”大衛年輕時縱橫戰場，經過了人世間許多坎坷，在軟弱時也曾求神讓他不致羞愧；現在年老，沒有力氣，萬事不由人，他依然希望活得燦爛，讓人能從他身上看到，一個投靠神的人必永不羞愧。我相信這也是許多年老基督徒的心態。我們雖然老了，但是求主讓我們活得有主的光采，讓我們的生命依然能彰顯神的豐盛和能力。

A Better Hope Through Jesus

2019-10-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hebrews 7:11-19.  Let’s go!

Hebrews 7:18-19 (NIV) 
18  The former regulation is set aside because it was weak and useless
19  (for the law made nothing perfect), and a better hope is introduced, by which we draw near to God.

On verses 11-19:  In approximately 15th century B.C., Moses introduces laws to govern the people of Israel.  These laws are found in the first five books of the Old Testament, also known as the Pentateuch, and are sometimes called the law of Moses, or simply “the law”.  The law of Moses stipulated that Israel’s priests, beginning with the first high priest Aaron, must come from the tribe of Levi.  Yet along comes Jesus who breaks this mold in that:

Jesus is not a descendant of the tribe of Levi, but from the tribe of Judah (v13-14)
Jesus becomes a priest not because of his family ancestry but because of the indestructible life he lived (v16);
Jesus is named a priest not in the typical order of Aaron as stipulated in the law, but in the order of Melchizedek as prophesied in Psalm 110 (v11).

詩篇七十篇

2019-10-16 in /by

大衛的紀念詩，交於伶長。
1 神啊，求祢快快搭救我！耶和華啊，求祢速速幫助我！
2 願那些尋索我命的抱愧蒙羞，願那些喜悅我遭害的退後受辱。
3 願那些對我說「啊哈！啊哈！」的，因羞愧退後。
4 願一切尋求祢的因祢高興歡喜，願那些喜愛祢救恩的常說：「當尊神為大！」
5 但我是困苦窮乏的，神啊，求祢速速到我這裡來！祢是幫助我的，搭救我的，耶和華啊，求祢不要耽延！

這首詩為何稱為記念詩呢？當你讀完它時，可能覺得它更像一首求救詩或請願詩。從希伯來文和英文的翻譯 lehazkir (להזכיר),這個字本身就是記念 remind或提及mention之意，但也因為其內容，所以有的英文聖經的翻譯也用A petition(請願)。

大衛做王，他的生活有兩個方面，一是對外公開的，一是對內私人的。我們的生活又何嘗不是這樣？大家表面上都很好，開開心心的，好像臉書的世界，許多人把各種節日或旅遊的相片放上去，有的人就因而被迷惑了，以為別人的日子都過得鮮亮有趣，只有自己什麼都沒有。事實上，他們不會把旅行或生活裡所碰到的糟糕透頂的經歷告訴別人。

大衛做王似乎很榮耀，可是他要面對的攻擊也是多得不得了。他一當王，非利士人就來攻擊；他善意地想安慰死了父親的亞捫，結果使者去了卻慘遭羞辱；除了軍事還有政治。現在我們看新聞，哪個當政者不是天天被批評被攻擊？在表面看他是個榮耀的君王，但是他的內心卻充滿了掙扎和恐懼。

Who is Melchizedek?

2019-10-16 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hebrews 7:1-10.  Let’s go!

Hebrews 7:3 (NIV) 
3  Without father or mother, without genealogy, without beginning of days or end of life, like the Son of God he remains a priest forever. 

On verses 1-4:  A few times already the writer of Hebrews has mentioned Melchizedek, saying that Jesus is a priest “in the order of Melchizedek” (for example, Hebrews 5:10; 6:20).  Now who is Melchizedek?  Melchizedek is a mysterious figure who is first mentioned in Genesis 14 where Abram has just returned from victoriously battling a number of kings.  All of a sudden, Melchizedek king of Salem appears, bringing bread and wine (v18).  In addition to being a king, Melchizedek is also called “priest of God Most High” (v18) and blesses Abram (v19).  Did you notice the parallels between Melchizedek and Jesus Christ?  For example:

Melchizedek is simultaneously a king and a priest, just like Jesus.  In fact the first mention of “priest” in the Bible is with reference to Melchizedek.  Similarly, it can be said that Jesus the eternal Son of God was and is the first ever priest. 

詩篇六十九篇

2019-10-15 in /by

大衛的詩，交於伶長。調用百合花。

1 神啊，求祢救我！因為眾水要淹沒我。
2 我陷在深淤泥中，沒有立腳之地；我到了深水中，大水漫過我身。
3 我因呼求困乏，喉嚨發乾；我因等候神，眼睛失明。
4 無故恨我的，比我頭髮還多；無理與我為仇，要把我剪除的，甚為強盛；我沒有搶奪的，要叫我償還。
5 神啊，我的愚昧祢原知道，我的罪愆不能隱瞞。
6 萬軍的主耶和華啊，求祢叫那等候祢的不要因我蒙羞。以色列的神啊，求祢叫那尋求祢的不要因我受辱。
7 因我為祢的緣故受了辱罵，滿面羞愧。
8 我的弟兄看我為外路人，我的同胞看我為外邦人。
9 因我為祢的殿心裡焦急，如同火燒，並且辱罵祢人的辱罵都落在我身上。
10 我哭泣，以禁食刻苦我心，這倒算為我的羞辱。……

這篇“彌賽亞詩篇”裡有很多在新約被引用的經文，這些經文都直接指向主耶穌在十字架上的經歷。當大衛在苦難中時，他向神發聲求援，但是聖靈卻使他說出許多預言，論及彌賽亞要受到的迫害。在1-6節裡，大衛形容他的苦難有可能來自他的愚昧或罪愆，他深陷淤泥中，沒有立腳之地；又到了深水中，大水漫過他身。前者指站都站不住，後者指已經没頂，快沒命了。他曾呼救，直到喉嚨發乾，因為等候神，眼睛失明。這是一場在黑暗裡的爭戰，看不見任何亮光。

仇敵比頭髮還多，那時大衛應該還有很多頭髮，仇敵多到像頭髮那樣數算不了；想剪除他的，比他強盛；他沒有搶奪，人卻要他償還。這是個不合理的世界，沒有任何理由可講。主耶穌在最後的晚餐時，就是這樣跟門徒說的：“這要應驗他們律法上所寫的話說：他們無故地恨我。（約15:25）”當時的以色列人、羅馬軍兵真是無緣無故地恨耶穌，要置祂於死地。但是大衛的祈禱不是為了自己，更為了神的榮耀，這就是大衛禱告最高明的地方：“萬軍的主耶和華啊，求祢叫那等候祢的不要因我蒙羞。以色列的神啊，求祢叫那尋求祢的不要因我受辱。”

You Can Trust Who God Is and What God Says

2019-10-15 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hebrews 6:13-20.  Let’s go!

On verses 13-17:  As an example of “those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised” (v12), the writer of Hebrews mentions the story of Abraham.  Despite Abraham’s old age and his wife Sarah’s inability to have children, God promises to Abraham and Sarah that “I will surely bless you and give you many descendants.” (v14)   To show how serious God is about fulfilling that promise, God “swore by himself” (v13) because “there was no one greater for him to swear by” (v13) and people usually swear on something that is greater than themselves (v16).  The specific wording can be found in Genesis 22:16-17:

16  …”I swear by myself, declares the LORD, that because you have done this and have not withheld your son, your only son,
17  I will surely bless you and make your descendants as numerous as the stars in the sky and as the sand on the seashore. Your descendants will take possession of the cities of their enemies,

In addition to swearing by himself, God did one more thing:  He gave an oath.  By making this oath (promise), God was trying to make it “very clear” to Abraham and his descendants that God was serious about doing what He said He would do (v17).  As verse 16 says, “the oath confirms what is said and puts an end to all argument.”