Entries by

The Most Important Thing You Can Do

2019-08-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 29:21-30.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 29:22 (NIV) 
22  They ate and drank with great joy in the presence of the LORD that day. Then they acknowledged Solomon son of David as king a second time, anointing him before the LORD to be ruler and Zadok to be priest.
 
On verses 21-22:  It touches my heart deeply to think that David’s last act as king of Israel, before he handed the reigns of his kingdom to his son Solomon, was to lead his people in worshiping the Lord, both through giving the most generous offering they could muster together (v1-9) and giving God praise through prayer and song (v10-20).  And now, one day later, the people are at it again, giving God worship through generous sacrifices and offerings (v21).  They eat and drink together with great joy before recognizing and anointing Solomon as their king and ruler (v22).  What can we learn from this? The most important thing you can do with the power God has given you is lead others to know and worship the Lord.  Like David, may you do it until you don’t have the power to do it anymore.

詩篇第八篇 詩篇

2019-08-05 in /by

詩篇第八篇

大衛的詩，交於伶長。用迦特樂器。

1 耶和華我們的主啊，祢的名在全地何其美，祢將祢的榮耀彰顯於天！
2 祢因敵人的緣故，從嬰孩和吃奶的口中建立了能力，使仇敵和報仇的閉口無言。
3 我觀看你指頭所造的天，並祢所陳設的月亮星宿，
4 便說：「人算什麼，祢竟顧念他？世人算什麼，祢竟眷顧他？
5 祢叫他比天使微小一點，並賜他榮耀尊貴為冠冕。
6 祢派他管理祢手所造的，使萬物，就是一切的牛羊，田野的獸，空中的鳥，海裡的魚，凡經行海道的，都服在他的腳下。」
9 耶和華我們的主啊，祢的名在全地何其美！

從〈詩篇〉第3-7篇裡，大衛經歷了許多的痛苦憂傷，但是當他仰望神時，他皂心就充滿了喜槳和讚美。這詩篇提醒我們，不要一直注目在地上的人事物，要抬頭仰望，因為神也在看我們，要藉著祂的創造賜給我們信心。神將祂的榮耀彰顯於天，所以當我們看天空時，時時感到驚奇。晨曦帶來的生命力，天空中的顏色變幻無窮，夕陽之美，夜裡繁星燦爛，沒有一刻是無聊的。

Your Wealth Is From God and For God

2019-08-05 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 29:10-20.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 29:10 (NIV) 
10  David praised the LORD in the presence of the whole assembly, saying, “Praise be to you, O LORD, God of our father Israel, from everlasting to everlasting.

On verse 10-13:  Having given the most personal and precious offering he has ever given, and having seen how his officials and the people respond in kind by giving willingly and generously toward the building of the temple as well, David praises God.  Notice a few things about how David praises God:

David is the king of Israel, the most powerful man in his country, and yet David says to God, “Yours, Lord, is the greatness and the power and the glory and the majesty and the splendor…Yours, Lord, is the kingdom; you are exalted as head over all.” (v11)

詩篇第七篇

2019-08-04 in /by

詩篇第七篇

大衛指著便雅憫人古實的話，向耶和華唱的流離歌。

1 耶和華我的神啊，我投靠祢，求祢救我脫離一切追趕我的人，將我救拔出來，
2 恐怕他們像獅子撕裂我，甚至撕碎，無人搭救。
3 耶和華我的神啊，我若行了這事，若有罪孽在我手裡，
4 我若以惡報那與我交好的人（連那無故與我為敵的，我也救了他），
5 就任憑仇敵追趕我，直到追上，將我的性命踏在地下，使我的榮耀歸於灰塵！（細拉）
6 耶和華啊，求祢在怒中起來，挺身而立，抵擋我敵人的暴怒；求祢為我興起，你已經命定施行審判。
7 願眾民的會環繞你，願祢從其上歸於高位。
8 耶和華向眾民施行審判。耶和華啊，求祢按我的公義和我心中的純正判斷我。
9 願惡人的惡斷絕，願你堅立義人，因為公義的神察驗人的心腸肺腑。
10 神是我的盾牌，祂拯救心裡正直的人。……….

大衛王是這首詩的作者，但是便雅憫人古實是指誰呢？流離歌是一種不規則的抒情詩，有點像我們的現代詩，隨著當時的心情和情景而吟頌的詩。古實的意思原是黑色，但在此是一個人的名字，因為冠上了便雅憫人，不免讓人聯想到掃羅。掃羅就是便雅憫人，所以當掃羅在追殺大衛時，他的族人必然傾心相助，也去追趕大衛。古實很可能就是緊追大衛不捨的一個。

在這首詩裡講到正義之人看起來彷彿很軟弱，就像他和掃羅相比，掃羅是王，擁有軍隊，而大衛手無寸鐵，只有一把非利士人哥利亞的刀，還有一批流浪者跟著他，兩相比較，大衛何等虛弱。但大衛到神面前祈求時，他以自己的公義求神判斷，他相信神必拯救無辜之人。因為神是公義的審判者。

Great Leaders Lead by Example

2019-08-04 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 29:1-9.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 29:3 (NIV) 
3  Besides, in my devotion to the temple of my God I now give my personal treasures of gold and silver for the temple of my God, over and above everything I have provided for this holy temple…

On verses 1-9:  After commissioning his son Solomon to build the temple and encouraging his top leaders in chapter 28, here in chapter 29 David addresses the whole assembly of Israelites.  He tells them of the great vision ahead of them to build a temple for the Lord.  He also tells them of the great challenges that are before them as they pursue this vision (v1).  Then David announces that he has already donated a tremendous amount toward this cause from all his own personal resources, which probably consisted of spoils that he had acquired over time as king (v2).  Now David says he is about to make an even greater personal donation (v3-5a).  This greater personal donation – which in the Hebrew means “my most personal treasure” – consisted of 3,000 talents of gold from Ophir (the most coveted gold in the region at that time) as well as 7,000 talents of refined silver.   Then he asks the entire assembly “Who is willing to consecrate themselves to the Lord today?” (v5b), meaning “Who will give of themselves personally toward building the temple?” (In fact, the word “consecrate” in Hebrew literally means to “fill the hand”.) 

詩篇第六篇

2019-08-02 in /by

詩篇第六篇

1 耶和華啊，求你不要在怒中責備我，也不要在烈怒中懲罰我！
2 耶和華啊，求你可憐我，因為我軟弱。耶和華啊，求你醫治我，因為我的骨頭發戰。
3 我心也大大地驚惶。耶和華啊，你要到幾時才救我呢？
4 耶和華啊，求你轉回，搭救我，因你的慈愛拯救我。
5 因為在死地無人記念你，在陰間有誰稱謝你？
6 我因唉哼而困乏，我每夜流淚，把床榻漂起，把褥子濕透。
7 我因憂愁眼睛乾癟，又因我一切的敵人眼睛昏花。
8 你們一切作孽的人，離開我吧！因為耶和華聽了我哀哭的聲音。
9 耶和華聽了我的懇求，耶和華必收納我的禱告。
10 我的一切仇敵都必羞愧，大大驚惶；他們必要退後，忽然羞愧。

這是大衛的詩歌，也是詩篇裡七首懺悔詩篇的第一首。這篇詩歌寫出在患病或正在受苦的人的心聲，也表達了以色列遭受他國壓迫和被蹂躪時的苦楚。

大衛王因罪惹動了神的怒氣，在詩歌裡他寫出他的痛苦不只是因為對手的反擊，而且他深深感受到永死，也就是與神隔絕的恐怖。他迫切渴望能得到神的寬恕。他對神的訴求是，倘若神在憤怒中取走他的性命，那麼還有誰像他一樣能讚美神，稱謝神？

You Are Planned and Precious to God

2019-08-02 in /by

HI GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 28:11-21.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 28:11-13 (NIV) 
11  Then David gave his son Solomon the plans for the portico of the temple, its buildings, its storerooms, its upper parts, its inner rooms and the place of atonement. 
12  He gave him the plans of all that the Spirit had put in his mind for the courts of the temple of the LORD and all the surrounding rooms, for the treasuries of the temple of God and for the treasuries for the dedicated things. 
13  He gave him instructions for the divisions of the priests and Levites, and for all the work of serving in the temple of the LORD, as well as for all the articles to be used in its service.

On verses 11-13, 19:   One of the key words in these verses is “the plans”.  David gives to Solomon the plans for the temple, plans which David says were inspired by the Holy Spirit.  What can we learn from this?  God is a planner.  He knows the plans He has for you, plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future (Jeremiah 29:11).  

The Biblical Formula for Success

2019-08-01 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 28:1-10. Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 28:4-6 (NIV) 
4  “Yet the LORD, the God of Israel, chose me from my whole family to be king over Israel forever. He chose Judah as leader, and from the house of Judah he chose my family, and from my father’s sons he was pleased to make me king over all Israel. 
5  Of all my sons–and the LORD has given me many–he has chosen my son Solomon to sit on the throne of the kingdom of the LORD over Israel. 
6  He said to me: ‘Solomon your son is the one who will build my house and my courts, for I have chosen him to be my son, and I will be his father.
 
On verses 1-6:  In these verses, David addresses the leaders of Israel (political officials, tribal leaders, military commanders, warriors and others).  First, David recounts how he originally had it in his heart to build a temple for the Lord where the ark of God could rest (v2), but that God told him that he was not the one to build the temple due to his having shed other people’s blood in battle (v3).

詩篇第五篇

2019-08-01 in /by

詩篇第五篇

1 耶和華啊，求祢留心聽我的言語，顧念我的心思。
2 我的王我的神啊，求祢垂聽我呼求的聲音，因為我向祢祈禱。
3 耶和華啊，早晨祢必聽我的聲音；早晨我必向祢陳明我的心意，並要警醒。
4 因為祢不是喜悅惡事的神，惡人不能與祢同居。
5 狂傲人不能站在祢眼前，凡作孽的都是祢所恨惡的。
6 說謊言的，祢必滅絕；好流人血弄詭詐的，都為耶和華所憎惡。
7 至於我，我必憑祢豐盛的慈愛進入你的居所，我必存敬畏祢的心向祢的聖殿下拜。
8 耶和華啊，求祢因我的仇敵，憑祢的公義引領我，使祢的道路在我面前正直。
9 因為他們的口中沒有誠實，他們的心裡滿有邪惡，他們的喉嚨是敞開的墳墓，他們用舌頭諂媚人。
10 神啊，求祢定他們的罪！願他們因自己的計謀跌倒，願祢在他們許多的過犯中把他們逐出，因為他們背叛了祢。
11 凡投靠祢的，願他們喜樂，時常歡呼，因為祢護庇他們。又願那愛祢名的人，都靠祢歡欣。
12 因為祢必賜福於義人，耶和華啊，祢必用恩惠如同盾牌四面護衛他。

這是大衛的早禱詩，也是許多人非常喜歡的。在古代近東的宗教中認為早禱是一件非常重要的事，因為他們相信神必聽早晨的祈禱。正如大衛在第三節說的：“耶和華啊，早晨祢必聽我的聲音；早晨我必向祢陳明我的心意，並要警醒。”這當中有呼應，想要神垂聽，自己必須先早起向神陳明心意且警醒，不能躺在床上隨隨便便地唸，好像在吩咐僕人做事；要恭敬到神的面前陳明心意，這樣的晨禱，神必垂聽。