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面子

2019-03-24 in /by

马太福音10: 32_33 面子

32 凡在人面前认我的，我在我天上的父面前也必认他； 33 凡在人面前不认我的，我在我天上的父面前也必不认他。

上个星期天我们小组聚会，请了一位宣教士郑伯海牧师来分享他们在厄瓜多尔的事工。厄瓜多尔是一个位于南美洲西北部的国家，北与哥伦比亚相邻，南接祕鲁，西滨太平洋，与智利同为南美洲不与巴西相邻。郑牧师在分享时，我心里浮起一个问题，为什么有的人可以放弃自己的事业或工作，还有大半生的青春，去一个遥远，生活习惯背景文化都不一样的地方宣扬耶稣基督的福音，而有的人连邀请朋友来参加教会聚会的勇气都没有？

有的人可以站出来为福音争战，为福音入狱，为福音犠牲性命，有的人连在大众前做饭前祷告都不敢？

当保罗说，「我不以福音为耻，这福音本是神的大能，要救一切相信的，先是犹太人，后是希腊人。(罗1:16)」为何他会特别提到他不以福音为耻？因为在当时的社会上，保罗放弃了他在社会上的地位，为了福音甘愿成为阶下囚，被人丢石头，被人驱逐，经过船难，逃过谋杀，等等。福音仿佛成了他的生活里的咒诅，让他不能享受平凡人追求的安逸生活、声名地位，以及荣华富贵。而这正是一般人所逃避的，因为他们不想失去保罗所丢弃的。

Be Careful, Not Gullible

2019-03-24 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 13:11-22.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 13:18-19 (NIV) 
18 The old prophet answered, “I too am a prophet, as you are. And an angel said to me by the word of the LORD: ‘Bring him back with you to your house so that he may eat bread and drink water.'” (But he was lying to him.) 
19 So the man of God returned with him and ate and drank in his house. 

On verses 11-19:  In these verses the man of God from Judah is on his way home when he is met by a “certain old prophet living in Bethel” (v11).  Having heard from his sons about the impressive feats this younger prophet from Judah was involved in, the old prophet finds this younger prophet and invites him to come to his house and eat.  Initially the younger prophet refuses, saying that God has told him not to eat or drink (v16-17).  But when the old prophet says that he too is a prophet and that an angel told him to bring the younger prophet back with him to eat and drink, the man from Judah goes with the old prophet and eats and drinks with him.  Little did the man from Judah know that the old prophet was lying.  

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.