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你们比许多麻雀还贵重

2019-03-22 in /by

马太福音10: 26_31 你们比许多麻雀还贵重

26 所以不要怕他们，因为掩盖的事没有不露出来的，隐藏的事没有不被人知道的。 27 我在暗中告诉你们的，你们要在明处说出来；你们耳中所听的，要在房上宣扬出来。 28 那杀身体不能杀灵魂的，不要怕他们；唯有能把身体和灵魂都灭在地狱里的，正要怕他。 29 两个麻雀不是卖一分银子吗？若是你们的父不许，一个也不能掉在地上。 30 就是你们的头发，也都被数过了。 31 所以，不要惧怕，你们比许多麻雀还贵重。

在这短短的六节经文里，你能找出几个「怕」字？读这段经文时，觉得耶稣好心疼跟随祂的人。好像明知山有虎，偏向虎山行，其实主耶稣也舍不得跟随祂的人受苦，所以祂要让我们不要怕。

第一个不要怕，是不要怕那些骂主和门徒的人。他们骂主赶鬼是靠着别西卜(魔王)，当然也会骂耶稣的跟随者，甚至因而陷害他们。就像骂引用圣经的人是制造仇恨的人，等等。但是他们在背地里所说的话，所设计的坏事都会显露出来，证明他们才是别西卜的跟随者。

第二个不要怕，是不要怕只能伤害我们肉体的人，该怕的是能把身体和灵魂都灭在地狱里的，那便是耶和华神。世人或撒旦多只能害死我们的身体，但是主会给我们一个复活的身体和永远的生命，谁也不能夺去。

Faith in the Lord = Real Power

2019-03-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 13:1-10.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 13:2 (NIV) 
2 He cried out against the altar by the word of the LORD: “O altar, altar! This is what the LORD says: ‘A son named Josiah will be born to the house of David. On you he will sacrifice the priests of the high places who now make offerings here, and human bones will be burned on you.'”

On verses 1-10:  King Jeroboam is now deeply entrenched in idolatry.  An unnamed prophet from Judah appears before Jeroboam while Jeroboam is offering an idolatrous sacrifice.  This unnamed prophet predicts that one day a young man named Josiah will be born to the house of David and “will sacrifice the priests who now make offerings here” (v2); in other words, the prophet predicts that this young man Josiah would put an end to idolatry in Israel.  Approximately 290 years after this prophecy is made, a young man Josiah is indeed born to the house of David, becomes king of Judah, and puts an end to idolatry in his land (See 2 kings 23).

仆人不能高过主人

2019-03-21 in /by

马太福音10: 24_25 仆人不能高过主人

24 「学生不能高过先生，仆人不能高过主人。 25 学生和先生一样，仆人和主人一样，也就罢了。人既骂家主是别西卜，何况他的家人呢？

24-25 “A student doesn’t get a better desk than her teacher. A laborer doesn’t make more money than his boss. Be content—pleased, even—when you, my students, my harvest hands, get the same treatment I get. If they call me, the Master, ‘Dungface,’ what can the workers expect? (MSG)

毕德生牧师把这段经文翻译得很容易理解，他说：一个学生不能月比他的老师更好的桌子我想是指在学校里)。一个仆人再怎样赚钱也没有主人赚得多。但是要懂得满足，甚至当你，我的学生，与我共同收获的同工，也会得到与我相同的待遇。假如他们叫我这个主人是别西卜，那我的同工能期望他们叫你们什么？

我们一般不介意在做错事时受到惩罚，但是为了做对的事却受到恶待，就很难理解和接受了。最近有位在美国一间私校读书的女学生因为看到同性恋的标志和旗帜到处飞扬，她觉得身为基督徒应该把神的话语让世人知道，于是在学校里张贴了一些圣经里的经文。不料被老师发现后，不但撕下那些经文，还勒令她退学。

Let Faith in God’s Promises, Not Fear, Empower Your Thinking

2019-03-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 12:25-33.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 12:25 (NIV) 
25 Then Jeroboam fortified Shechem in the hill country of Ephraim and lived there. From there he went out and built up Peniel. 

On verse 25:  Jeroboam goes to Shechem, the very place where Rehoboam had been crowned king, and then Peniel, building up his interests in both cities so as to help protect his kingdom.

1 Kings 12:26-27 (NIV) 
26 Jeroboam thought to himself, “The kingdom will now likely revert to the house of David. 
27 If these people go up to offer sacrifices at the temple of the LORD in Jerusalem, they will again give their allegiance to their lord, Rehoboam king of Judah. They will kill me and return to King Rehoboam.” 

忍耐到底，必然得救

2019-03-20 in /by

马太福音10: 21_23 忍耐到底，必然得救

21 「弟兄要把弟兄，父亲要把儿子，送到死地；儿女要与父母为敌，害死他们。22 并且你们要为我的名被众人恨恶，唯有忍耐到底的，必然得救。 23 有人在这城里逼迫你们，就逃到那城里去。我实在告诉你们：以色列的城邑你们还没有走遍，人子就到了。

耶稣在两千多年前的预言，一一应验在我们的眼前。尤其是在资讯发达的今天，我们更可以通过新闻或网路，快速得知世界各地基督徒的情况。自今年2月以来,尼日利亚卡杜纳州已造成至少120人死亡的大屠杀，在本周一(3月18日)最近一次发生的袭击事件中, 再次造成50多人死亡, 140多间房屋被毁。

2018年基督徒因信仰而被杀的有4,136人。当人们意识到基督徒所宣告的是一位真神，而不是让他们感觉良好的偶像，让他们任意妄为的信仰时，他们就群起拒绝，因为撒旦在他们的生命中做王。我们看到在犹太人的家庭中若有人信耶稣，就要遭到和家人断绝关系的痛苦，被社会拒绝的无奈。在回教或印度教的家庭也是如此，有时甚至把信主的家人送上法庭，要他们死。

Be Quick to Learn and to Respond to God

2019-03-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 12:16-24.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 12:18-19 (NIV) 
18 King Rehoboam sent out Adoniram, who was in charge of forced labor, but all Israel stoned him to death. King Rehoboam, however, managed to get into his chariot and escape to Jerusalem. 
19 So Israel has been in rebellion against the house of David to this day.

On verses 16-20:  Finding Rehoboam to be unresponsive to their demands, the Israelites, other than the tribe of Judah reject Rehoboam as their king.  Rehoboam tries sending Adoniram his messenger to appease the people, but the people kill Adoniram and nearly kill Rehoboam.  They appoint Jeroboam as their new king instead, in rebellion against the house of David.

防备人

2019-03-19 in /by

马太福音10: 17_20 防备人

17 你们要防备人，因为他们要把你们交给公会，也要在会堂里鞭打你们， 18 并且你们要为我的缘故被送到诸侯君王面前，对他们和外邦人作见证。 19 你们被交的时候，不要思虑怎样说话或说什么话，到那时候必赐给你们当说的话； 20 因为不是你们自己说的，乃是你们父的灵在你们里头说的。

远志明牧师说过一个比喻，主耶稣是羊羔，进入世人当中被宰了，那些把耶稣送上十字架的人，好几个后来都跟随主，变成忠心的仆人。那些跟随主的人，因为有了主的生命也变成羊，进入世人(狼群)当中，又被吃掉了；那些吃了羊的狼因为有了羊的生命，就变成羊了。就这样循环下去，逐渐地，羊越来越多，被吃掉，就有更多的羊变出来，福音就这样传遍了全世界。

仔细思想，他的话是有几分道理。主耶稣此时己经开始培训门徒，祂没有给门徒一个富贵美满的远景，而是实话实说，十字架的道路上满是荆棘坎坷，要遭遇很多世人眼中的不幸。但是主要我们知道，不管在何时，祂都与我们同在；甚至在我们受逼迫时，父的灵，圣灵也会赐给我们当说的话。

记得听过一个文革时的见证：有位基督徒被抓去审问，他们问他：「你是不是罪人？」他一想，没错啊，立刻回答：「是，我是罪人。」他们问他犯了什么罪，全招出来。他就开始如数家珍，把心里以前有的嫉妒、苦毒、怨恨，等等，一直说。那些审他的人一听没办法，就停了审讯。他因而逃过了许多酷刑。那位弟兄说，他相信当时认罪的灵感是来自圣灵的引导。

Before You Make a Big Decision

2019-03-19 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 12:1-15.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 12:1-5 (NIV) 
1 Rehoboam went to Shechem, for all the Israelites had gone there to make him king.
2 When Jeroboam son of Nebat heard this (he was still in Egypt, where he had fled from King Solomon), he returned from Egypt.
3 So they sent for Jeroboam, and he and the whole assembly of Israel went to Rehoboam and said to him:
4 “Your father put a heavy yoke on us, but now lighten the harsh labor and the heavy yoke he put on us, and we will serve you.”
5 Rehoboam answered, “Go away for three days and then come back to me.” So the people went away.

On verses 1-5:  Israel is about to make Solomon’s son Rehoboam the next king of Israel.  While in Egypt, Jeroboam hears about this, returns to Israel and rallies all of Israel behind him, perhaps with promises that if he was made king instead of Rehoboam, he would make sure that the Israelites’ load is lighter. 

灵巧如蛇，驯良如鸽

2019-03-19 in /by

马太福音10: 16灵巧如蛇，驯良如鸽

16 看哪！我差你们出去，如同羊进入狼羣，所以你们要机警如蛇，纯真如鸽。 

16 我差你们去，如同羊进入狼群，所以你们要灵巧像蛇，驯良像鸽子。

16 现在，我差派你们出去，好像羊进到狼群中间；所以你们要像蛇一样机警，像鸽子一样纯洁。

16 “I am sending you out like sheep among wolves. Therefore be as shrewd as snakes and as innocent as doves.(NIV)

16 “Stay alert. This is hazardous work I’m assigning you. You’re going to be like sheep running through a wolf pack, so don’t call attention to yourselves. Be as cunning as a snake, inoffensive as a dove.(MSG)

这段经文有几种翻译，都很接近。但我仍然觉得「驯良」如鸽最为贴切。因为纯真给人有一种不懂世故的误解；纯洁又好像太标榜了，谁不犯罪？谁能纯洁无瑕？「灵巧」或「机警」如蛇，您觉得哪个形容得更贴切？可能要找对蛇比较有认识的人来分析才行。我觉得「灵巧」是一种变通的能力，「机警」是对危险的查觉。英文里译为shrewd精明或cunning狡滑，您以为呢？