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The Role of a Lifetime

2019-07-26 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 23:1-32.  Let’s go!  The Role of a Lifetime (Plus, 4 Characteristics of Great Servants of God)

1 Chronicles 23:1-5 (NIV) 
1  When David was old and full of years, he made his son Solomon king over Israel. 
2  He also gathered together all the leaders of Israel, as well as the priests and Levites. 
3  The Levites thirty years old or more were counted, and the total number of men was thirty-eight thousand. 
4  David said, “Of these, twenty-four thousand are to supervise the work of the temple of the LORD and six thousand are to be officials and judges. 
5  Four thousand are to be gatekeepers and four thousand are to praise the LORD with the musical instruments I have provided for that purpose.”
 
On verses 1-24:  David was known for many things and wore many hats during his lifetime: he was a shepherd, a soldier, a military commander, and a king.  But at his core, David was a worshiper who loved to worship God.  While his other roles would come and go, it is this role as a worshiper that David would carry with him throughout his lifetime.  When David was younger, his passion to worship God was evident in all the worship songs he wrote.  

传言

2019-07-25 in /by

马太福音28: 11_15_传言

11 她们去的时候，看守的兵有几个进城去，将所经历的事都报给祭司长。 12 祭司长和长老聚集商议，就拿许多银钱给兵丁，说： 13 「你们要这样说：『夜间我们睡觉的时候，他的门徒来把他偷去了。』 14 倘若这话被巡抚听见，有我们劝他，保你们无事。」 15 兵丁受了银钱，就照所嘱咐他们的去行。这话就传说在犹太人中间，直到今日。

在上一段的经文里，我们看到耶稣复活时不仅有两个马利亚亲眼所见，就是看守的兵丁也是目击证人。看守耶稣之墓的兵不是一般小卒，而是彼拉多派出的罗马兵，骁勇善战的军人。何事会让壮如泰山的罗马兵吓到浑身乱战，其至像死人一样不能动呢？他们看到天使，看到天使滚动石头，看到天使的相貌如同闪电，衣服洁白如雪。然后，耶稣的尸体不见了。

当两个马利亚快乐地带着耶稣复活的信息去找耶稣的门徒时，那几位目击证人罗马兵也飞奔著去告诉祭司长，耶稣复活了。

马可16:10 她去告诉那向来跟随耶稣的人，那时他们正哀恸哭泣。 11 他们听见耶稣活了，被马利亚看见，却是不信。

路加24:10-12 那告诉使徒的就是抹大拉的马利亚和约亚拿，并雅各的母亲马利亚，还有与她们在一处的妇女。11 她们这些话使徒以为是胡言，就不相信。 彼得起来，跑到坟墓前，低头往里看，见细麻布独在一处，就回去了，心里稀奇所成的事。

在约翰福音里，彼得和约翰听了马利亚的话就立刻跑到墓里察看，就信了。

The Kind of People Jesus Uses to Build His Church

2019-07-25 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 22:2-19.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 22:2-4 (NIV) 
2  So David gave orders to assemble the aliens living in Israel, and from among them he appointed stonecutters to prepare dressed stone for building the house of God. 
3  He provided a large amount of iron to make nails for the doors of the gateways and for the fittings, and more bronze than could be weighed. 
4  He also provided more cedar logs than could be counted, for the Sidonians and Tyrians had brought large numbers of them to David.

On verses 2-4:  Here we see King David making preparations for the building of the temple.  As part of this, King David appoints some of the aliens (i.e. foreigners) living in Israel to be stonecutters and to prepare dressed stones for building the temple. 

Likewise, in the same chapter where Peter calls us royal priests and stones that God is using to build His house, we are also called “aliens and strangers in the world” (1 Peter 2:11). The kind of people Jesus uses to build His church are “the aliens” among us – i.e. those of us who don’t live as if earth is our final home, but who realize that our real home is in heaven and that we are but strangers in this world, living for a kingdom that is not of this world.  When you have the mindset that heaven is our home, you won’t get too attached to the material things of this world, and as such you can more easily be used by the Lord to build His church.

The One Who Goes Before You

2019-07-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 21:18-22:1.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 21:18-19 (NIV) 
18  Then the angel of the LORD ordered Gad to tell David to go up and build an altar to the LORD on the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite.
19  So David went up in obedience to the word that Gad had spoken in the name of the LORD.

On verses 18-19:  After having allowed David and all of Israel to suffer a great plague because of David’s sin, here the Lord sends Gad the prophet with a message for David.  Gad tells David to build an altar at the threshing floor of Araunah the Jebusite, the very place where God would command the plague to stop (see verses 15 and 27).  The fact that God would take the initiative to tell David to build an altar suggests to me an important lesson:  God is just as intentional about restoring a sinner as He is about disciplining them. This is a good lesson for parents.  When our kids go astray, it is important to discipline them, but after the discipline remember to reassure them of your love and to reaffirm the relationship. 

1 Chronicles 21:20-21 (NIV) 
20  While Araunah was threshing wheat, he turned and saw the angel; his four sons who were with him hid themselves.
21  Then David approached, and when Araunah looked and saw him, he left the threshing floor and bowed down before David with his face to the ground.

复活

2019-07-24 in /by

马太福音28: 1_10_复活

1安息日将尽，七日的头一日天快亮的时候，抹大拉的马利亚和那个马利亚来看坟墓。 2 忽然，地大震动，因为有主的使者从天上下来，把石头滚开，坐在上面。3 他的相貌如同闪电，衣服洁白如雪。 4 看守的人就因他吓得浑身乱战，甚至和死人一样。 5 天使对妇女说：「不要害怕！我知道你们是寻找那钉十字架的耶稣。 6 他不在这里，照他所说的，已经复活了。你们来看安放主的地方！ 7 快去告诉他的门徒，说他从死里复活了，并且在你们以先往加利利去，在那里你们要见他。看哪，我已经告诉你们了！」 8 妇女们就急忙离开坟墓，又害怕又大大地欢喜，跑去要报给他的门徒。 9 忽然，耶稣遇见她们，说：「愿你们平安！」她们就上前抱住他的脚拜他。 10 耶稣对她们说：「不要害怕！你们去告诉我的弟兄，叫他们往加利利去，在那里必见我。」

安息日将尽，七日的头一日天快亮的时候After the Sabbath, as the first light of the new week dawned。安息日将尽，是星期六的黄昏，既是黄昏，又怎么会是天快亮的时候？在语句有冲突时，最容易令人想到的错误，便是可能翻译的问题。

马可16:1-3过了安息日，抹大拉的马利亚和雅各的母亲马利亚并撒罗米买了香膏，要去膏耶稣的身体。七日的第一日清早，出太阳的时候，她们来到坟墓那里， 彼此说：「谁给我们把石头从墓门滚开呢？」

路加24:1-2七日的头一日，黎明的时候，那些妇女带着所预备的香料来到坟墓前， 2 看见石头已经从坟墓滚开了。

约翰20:1七日的第一日清早，天还黑的时候，抹大拉的马利亚来到坟墓那里，看见石头从坟墓挪开了。

从这三本福音书的记载可以看到和马太所记载的己有一夜之隔。马太记载的是安息日结束后，也就是当天黄昏发生的事，而其他三位作者记的是周日早上的看见。那为何会有「七日的头一日天快亮的时候」？七日的头一日，也就是周六结束，当天黄昏的开始就是七日的头一日。那怎么会「天快亮的时候」？王明道先生提及在马太福音里这字的原文是epiphoskolg ，在路加福暜3章54节里也用了这个字，但是译为「安息日也快到了。」假如「七日的头一日天快亮的时候」译为「七日的头一日也快到了」，是不是就「案情大明」了呢？

埋葬

2019-07-23 in /by

马太福音27: 57_66_埋葬

57 到了晚上，有一个财主，名叫约瑟，是亚利马太来的，他也是耶稣的门徒， 58 这人去见彼拉多，求耶稣的身体。彼拉多就吩咐给他。 59 约瑟取了身体，用干净细麻布裹好， 60 安放在自己的新坟墓里，就是他凿在磐石里的。他又把大石头滚到墓门口，就去了。 61 有抹大拉的马利亚和那个马利亚在那里，对着坟墓坐着。

62 次日，就是预备日的第二天，祭司长和法利赛人聚集来见彼拉多，说： 63 「大人，我们记得那诱惑人的还活着的时候曾说：『三日后我要复活。』 64 因此，请吩咐人将坟墓把守妥当，直到第三日，恐怕他的门徒来把他偷了去，就告诉百姓说他从死里复活了。这样，那后来的迷惑比先前的更厉害了。」 65 彼拉多说：「你们有看守的兵，去吧，尽你们所能的把守妥当。」 66 他们就带着看守的兵同去，封了石头，将坟墓把守妥当。

假如你记得的话，耶稣骑驴进京，用的是没有人曾骑过的驴驹；埋葬耶稣身体的，也是一个新坟墓。神的儿子要用的都是“初熟之物”，因为祂是神。我相信这当中没有巧合，我们每一个在这世上都有神托咐的使命和计划。财主约瑟也是为了这特别的一个任务而存在，当然他一定也还有其他的责任。

参加过葬礼，在尸体下土之后还坐在那里的人，必然对死者有深厚的感情而不忍离去。有两个马利亚就是这样。

上次我们提到，耶稣不可能在周五被钉，因为一来周五到周日再算也算不出三天三夜，二来在史上的那星期有两个安息日。一个是逾越节的安息日，一个是普通的安息日。在这里的“次日”，英文是after sundown,太阳下山之后，是犹太人第二天的开始，所以译为“次日”。从华人的算法来看，还是同一天，就是被钉的那天黄昏。

Put Your Hope in God, Not in People

2019-07-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 21:1-17.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 21:1-6 (NIV) 
1  Satan rose up against Israel and incited David to take a census of Israel. 
2  So David said to Joab and the commanders of the troops, “Go and count the Israelites from Beersheba to Dan. Then report back to me so that I may know how many there are.” 
3  But Joab replied, “May the LORD multiply his troops a hundred times over. My lord the king, are they not all my lord’s subjects? Why does my lord want to do this? Why should he bring guilt on Israel?” 
4  The king’s word, however, overruled Joab; so Joab left and went throughout Israel and then came back to Jerusalem. 
5  Joab reported the number of the fighting men to David: In all Israel there were one million one hundred thousand men who could handle a sword, including four hundred and seventy thousand in Judah. 
6  But Joab did not include Levi and Benjamin in the numbering, because the king’s command was repulsive to him.

On verses 1-6:  King David decides to count the number of fighting soldiers in his army, and God is not pleased with this.  You might ask, “What’s the big deal about counting soldiers?”  There is nothing wrong with counting numbers per se.  But where David sinned was in why he wanted to count numbers.   David’s sin was that he was placing his hope more in the number of people fighting for him than in the Lord who was fighting for him. 

神的儿子

2019-07-22 in /by

马太福音27: 51_56_神的儿子

51 忽然，殿里的幔子从上到下裂为两半，地也震动，磐石也崩裂， 52 坟墓也开了，已睡圣徒的身体多有起来的。 53 到耶稣复活以后，他们从坟墓里出来，进了圣城，向许多人显现。 54 百夫长和一同看守耶稣的人看见地震并所经历的事，就极其害怕，说：「这真是神的儿子了！」 55 有好些妇女在那里远远地观看，她们是从加利利跟随耶稣来服侍他的。 56 内中有抹大拉的马利亚，又有雅各和约西的母亲马利亚，并有西庇太两个儿子的母亲。

在耶稣断气的时候，圣殿里的幔子从上到下裂为两半。这是非常不寻常，从未发生过的事。那时地也震动，磐石也崩裂，坟墓也开了，并且死去的圣徒身体多有起来的。就像先知以利沙死后，人将他葬埋。在过年时，有摩押人侵入以色列，正好有人在埋他们的死人，忽然看见一群摩押人，就把死人抛在以利沙的坟墓里。没想到那个死者一碰著以利沙的骸骨，死人就复活，站起来了(王下13:20-21)。神的能力要在何时发生，真不是人可以想像的。

在主后七十年，也就是圣殿被毁后的几百年里，犹太拉比编辑了两部关于犹太人的思想、宗教历史及注释的经书。一部在巴勒斯坦写的，称为《耶路撒冷他勒目》(Jerusalem Talmud)，另一部在巴比伦写成，称为《巴比伦他勒目》(Babylonian Talmud)。 在耶稣升天之后的四十年里，《耶路撒冷他勒目》记载了一些不寻常之事。当百夫长因为所看到的事说：「这真是神的儿子了！」 我们是否也会因为接下来发生的事而明白耶稣真是神的儿子？

Slaying the Giants in Your Life

2019-07-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Chronicles 20:1-8.  Let’s go!

1 Chronicles 20:1-3 (NIV) 
1  In the spring, at the time when kings go off to war, Joab led out the armed forces. He laid waste the land of the Ammonites and went to Rabbah and besieged it, but David remained in Jerusalem. Joab attacked Rabbah and left it in ruins. 
2  David took the crown from the head of their king–its weight was found to be a talent of gold, and it was set with precious stones–and it was placed on David’s head. He took a great quantity of plunder from the city 
3  and brought out the people who were there, consigning them to labor with saws and with iron picks and axes. David did this to all the Ammonite towns. Then David and his entire army returned to Jerusalem.

On verse 1-3:  Here we see a longtime enemy of Israel, the Ammonites, fighting against King David and his army.  Under the leadership of David’s commander in chief Joab, the armies of Israel defeat the Ammonites soundly and consign them to labor.   In a similar way, the Bible says that for a long time we were enemies of God’s kingdom (Colossians 1:21), constantly fighting against its king – Jesus Christ — until the day we surrendered to Him and allowed Him to take over our lives.  When the kingdom of God took over our lives, we went from being his enemies to becoming his servants.

拉马撒巴各大尼

2019-07-21 in /by

马太福音27: 45_50_拉马撒巴各大尼

45 从午正到申初，遍地都黑暗了。 46 约在申初，耶稣大声喊著说：「以利！以利！拉马撒巴各大尼？」就是说：「我的神！我的神！为什么离弃我？」 47 站在那里的人，有的听见就说：「这个人呼叫以利亚呢！」 48 内中有一个人赶紧跑去，拿海绒蘸满了醋，绑在苇子上，送给他喝。 49 其余的人说：「且等著，看以利亚来救他不来。」 50 耶稣又大声喊叫，气就断了。

耶稣是早上九时被钉，从午正到申初是指从正午十二时到下午三时，遍地都黑暗了。黑暗，表示连太阳的光也完全被遮住。正午十二时至下午三时，应该是一天中阳光最猛最烈的时刻，为何遍地黑暗？世界本来是黑暗的，没有希望的，被死亡和罪的权势所控制的。耶稣来了，祂医治生病的人，让瞎眼的看见，把天国的好消息带给人，赐给人有永生的盼望；可惜光照在黑暗里，黑暗却拒绝了光，因此世界又回复了黑暗。

在此时，耶稣经历了祂一生最大的痛苦。祂不在意降生在卑微的马槽，与牛羊马为伍；祂不在意约瑟和马利亚的贫穷；祂也不在乎没有枕头之地的流浪生涯；祂甚至不在意为门徒洗脚，被门徒出卖；祂也不在意十字架上的苦楚。但是当祂发现自己被神离弃时，祂发出了哀号：“以利！以利！拉马撒巴各大尼？”就是说：“我的神！我的神！为什么离弃我？”那时的耶稣以人的身份，全心紧紧抓着对神的信靠，却发现神离开祂了。神为何要离开祂的儿子？因为此时的耶稣背负了全人类的罪债，与圣洁的神无法在一起了。神的圣洁和公义，使祂不能沾染自己，去接近“有罪”的耶稣。