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Jesus’ Splendour > Solomon’s Splendour

2019-03-14 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 10:14-29.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 10:23-25 (NIV) 
23 King Solomon was greater in riches and wisdom than all the other kings of the earth.
24 The whole world sought audience with Solomon to hear the wisdom God had put in his heart.
25 Year after year, everyone who came brought a gift–articles of silver and gold, robes, weapons and spices, and horses and mules.

On verses 14-28: Previously Solomon had prayed for a wise and discerning heart.  God was so pleased with Solomon’s request that He decided to grant Solomon not only a wise and discerning heart but riches and honor as well, such that in terms of wisdom there would never be anyone like Solomon and in terms of riches Solomon would have no equal in his lifetime (1 Kings 3:12-13).

耶穌差遣十二使徒(下)

2019-03-14 in /by

馬太福音10: 1_4耶穌差遣十二使徒(下)

1 耶穌叫了十二個門徒來，給他們權柄，能趕逐污鬼，並醫治各樣的病症。
2 這十二使徒的名：頭一個叫西門，又稱彼得，還有他兄弟安得烈，西庇太的兒子雅各和雅各的兄弟約翰， 3 腓力和巴多羅買，多馬和稅吏馬太，亞勒腓的兒子雅各，和達太， 4 奮銳黨的西門，還有賣耶穌的加略人猶大。

馬太又名利未，在跟從耶穌之前，原任羅馬帝國猶太行省的稅吏長，在迦百農工作，代表羅馬政府向希伯來人抽稅。有一個古老的傳說藉著一幅很著名的畫流傳下來，就是馬太在晚年時受到天使的啟示而寫下〈馬太福音〉。

在義大利畫家Guido Reni這幅圖中，年老的馬太似乎受到天使的啟發，通過幾乎是催眠的凝視而不是任何口頭的語言向他傳達福音的經文，但是天使的手勢又似乎表達了直接的語言。馬太則用羽毛筆快速地在他的書上記錄下天使提示的每一句話。主升天後，他在猶太各地傳道達九年之久，後來前往埃提阿伯，又赴帕西亞傳道，當他重返埃提阿伯時，在乃旦巴城被戟刺死，時約主後六十年。

多馬，又名底土馬或猶大·多馬·迪迪摩斯，皆為「雙胞胎」之意。聖經中提到多馬三次發言，三次都顯出他的疑惑不信。第一次是在拉撒路死了的時候，多馬對其他門徒說：我們也去和他同死吧（約11:16）。第二次是在最後的晚餐席上，多馬說：主啊！我們不知道你往哪裡去，怎麼知道那條路呢（約14:5）？

耶穌差遣十二使徒(上)

2019-03-13 in /by

馬太福音10: 1_4耶穌差遣十二使徒(上)

1 耶穌叫了十二個門徒來，給他們權柄，能趕逐汙鬼，並醫治各樣的病症。
2 這十二使徒的名：頭一個叫西門，又稱彼得，還有他兄弟安得烈，西庇太的兒子雅各和雅各的兄弟約翰， 3 腓力和巴多羅買，多馬和稅吏馬太，亞勒腓的兒子雅各，和達太， 4 奮銳黨的西門，還有賣耶穌的加略人猶大。

耶穌是個言行合一的人，在說完「要收的莊稼多，做工的人少。所以，你們當求莊稼的主打發工人出去收他的莊稼。」之後，就裝備門徒，並打發門徒出去。在這裡我們來看一下耶穌的門徒，每個人的個性和認識主的經過都不一樣。

彼得，原名「西門巴約拿」，意思是「約拿的兒子西門」，（約翰福音稱他為約翰的兒子西門）。「彼得」是希臘文，與亞蘭文的「磯法」同意，是石頭或磐石之意，是伯賽大的漁夫。跟隨耶穌後，承認耶穌是基督，永生神的兒子；後來三次不認主，悔改後成為門徒和初期教會的領袖，後來在尼祿逼迫基督教的時候殉道，官府按照他自己的要求，倒釘十字架而死，因為他認為自己不配像耶穌一樣地釘十字架。著有〈彼得前後書〉。

Pursue Excellence in All You Do

2019-03-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

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

1 Kings 10:7-9 (NIV) 
7 But I did not believe these things until I came and saw with my own eyes. Indeed, not even half was told me; in wisdom and wealth you have far exceeded the report I heard. 
8 How happy your men must be! How happy your officials, who continually stand before you and hear your wisdom! 
9 Praise be to the LORD your God, who has delighted in you and placed you on the throne of Israel. Because of the LORD’s eternal love for Israel, he has made you king, to maintain justice and righteousness.” 

On verses 1-9:  Having heard of Solomon’s fame, wisdom and splendor, the Queen of Sheba travels approximately 1,200 to 1,500 miles from Sheba (modern day Yemen) to visit King Solomon in Jerusalem.  The Queen of Sheba is thoroughly impressed by King Solomon’s ability to answer her tough questions (v3). 

待收的莊稼

2019-03-12 in /by

馬太福音9: 37_38待收的莊稼

37 於是對門徒說：「要收的莊稼多，做工的人少。 38 所以，你們當求莊稼的主打發工人出去收他的莊稼。」

當耶穌生活在世人中間時，祂不是坐在家裡享福，等著人來侍候，而是親自走入人群，到各城各鄉去尋找有需要幫助的人。祂採取一種很主動的方式去關心人，表達神對我們的愛。從耶穌的榜樣裡，我們看見愛不是口裡的甜言蜜語，而是實際的行動。

耶穌感受到人巨大的需要，這巨大的需要來自對神的認識，歸向神的迫切。因為需要知道，有一位神愛他們，關切他們，願意俯就，做他們隨時的幫助。因為找不到這位神，所以他們去拜偶像拜假神，希望可以得到心靈的滿足，但是他們失望了。求神拜佛一點不能解決他們的問題，反而使他們更痛苦，甚至家破人亡，財去人空。

走在人群當中，你感受到什麼？能感受到耶穌所看到的嗎？一片待收的莊稼，但是沒有收割的工人。這些莊稼指的是神要贏回的靈魂，這些靈魂在撒旦的桎梏中活得太久太沉痛了，神聽見人心的呼喊，就像祂當年聽見以色列人在埃及當奴隸的哀告。那時祂差遣摩西去拯救以色列人，這次祂道成肉身，親自成為人來到人間。看到人的困苦流離，祂心痛了。

God is in the Rebuilding Business

2019-03-12 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 9:15-28.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 9:15-17 (NIV) 
15 Here is the account of the forced labor King Solomon conscripted to build the LORD’s temple, his own palace, the supporting terraces, the wall of Jerusalem, and Hazor, Megiddo and Gezer. 
16 (Pharaoh king of Egypt had attacked and captured Gezer. He had set it on fire. He killed its Canaanite inhabitants and then gave it as a wedding gift to his daughter, Solomon’s wife. 
17 And Solomon rebuilt Gezer.) He built up Lower Beth Horon, 

On verses 15-24:  Here we read of more towns and buildings that Solomon built (v15-19, 24), and more people whom he involved to help with constructing those buildings, including both conscripted foreigners (v20-21) and his fellow Israelites (v22-23).

Notice in verses 16 and 17, the writer of 1 Kings mentions that Pharaoh king of Egypt captured the town of Gezer, burned it down and destroyed it.  However, when Solomon king of Israel took over the destroyed town, he rebuilt it.  What can we learn from this? 

沒有牧人的羊

2019-03-11 in /by

馬太福音9: 35_36沒有牧人的羊

35 耶穌走遍各城各鄉，在會堂裡教訓人，宣講天國的福音，又醫治各樣的病症。36 他看見許多的人，就憐憫他們，因為他們困苦流離，如同羊沒有牧人一般。 

當你看到耶穌當年做的事情，你會有什麼感想嗎？祂走遍各城各鄉，而不是只留在一兩個地方。那時的文通不像現在有汽車，有巴士，有各樣的交通工具，那時就靠著一雙腳，所以每天都會很累。

祂做哪些事呢？一是在會堂教訓人，就是教導，可能類似現在的講道；祂講的內容是天國的福音。法律賽人和文士們也教導，但是他們只懂律法，不知有天國。耶穌說：「 除了從天降下仍舊在天的人子，沒有人升過天。(約3:13)」所以，除了耶穌之外，還有誰更有資格講天國的福音？除了耶穌，誰能告訴我們天國的福音？

因為有天國，所以人有盼望，不是一死百了；因為有天國，所以人有價值，因為神愛我們，我們是有家可歸的人，永恒的家；因為有天國，所以人的價值觀需要改變；因為有天國，我們希望成為可以被神接納的兒女，等等。你可以想到，當我們一旦知道有天國之後，我們生命和生活的目標就完全不一樣了。為什麼說耶穌帶來劃時代的革命，因為祂讓人知道有一個天國。

God Cares More About Your Character than Your Accomplishments

2019-03-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 9:1-14. Let’s go!

1 Kings 9:1-2 (NIV)
1 When Solomon had finished building the temple of the LORD and the royal palace, and had achieved all he had desired to do,
2 the LORD appeared to him a second time, as he had appeared to him at Gibeon.

On verses 1-9: Earlier in 1 Kings 3:5, when Solomon was just starting his reign, God appeared to Solomon in a dream at the city of Gibeon. At that time God told Solomon to walk in His ways and obey His statutes as David his father had (1 Kings 3:14). Now, fast forward to today’s passage in 1 Kings 9. Here we see that Solomon has completed building the temple, his own palace and “achieved all he had desired to do” (v1). God appears to Solomon again in a dream (v2) like He did over a decade earlier in 1 Kings 3:5 and His message for Solomon is the same: “walk before me faithfully with integrity of heart and uprightness as David your father did, and do all I command and observe my decrees and laws.” (v4).

耶穌趕鬼醫啞巴

2019-03-10 in /by

馬太福音9: 32_34 耶穌趕鬼醫啞吧

32 他們出去的時候，有人將鬼所附的一個啞巴帶到耶穌跟前來。 33 鬼被趕出去，啞巴就說出話來。眾人都稀奇說：「在以色列中從來沒有見過這樣的事！」 34 法利賽人卻說：「他是靠著鬼王趕鬼。」

這故事是耶穌在傳道時做的一部份工作，醫病趕鬼都是為了讓人能明白救贖主來到人間，因此坐在死蔭地的人看見有大光照著他們。在前面幾個醫治裡，有癱子、患血漏的、病死的，等等，都是生理上的疾病；現在耶穌要醫治另一種病。

這種病本來不是病，卻是因為有鬼在人的身體裡，以致於這個人變成了啞巴，說不出話來。耶穌把鬼趕出去之後，那人就能說話了，可見他的啞是因為鬼作怪，並不是生理上的問題。

How to Worship God

2019-03-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 8:54-66.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 8:54 (NIV) 
54 When Solomon had finished all these prayers and supplications to the LORD, he rose from before the altar of the LORD, where he had been kneeling with his hands spread out toward heaven. 

On verse 54:  Solomon began his prayer standing (v22), but he ends his prayer kneeling with his hands spread out to God.  Why?  It’s because as Solomon continued to pray, he realized more and more how much he and his people needed God.  His humility and his desperation for God grew the more he prayed.