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耶穌的榮耀

2019-05-10 in /by

馬太福音16: 27_28耶穌的榮耀

27 人子要在祂父的榮耀裡同著眾使者降臨，那時候祂要照各人的行為報應各人。28 我實在告訴你們：站在這裡的，有人在沒嘗死味以前，必看見人子降臨在祂的國裡。

看過雨果的名著改編的《悲慘世界Les Misérables》，我心裡有很大的震撼。在這部影片裡，是愛和律法的交戰。羅素‧克洛演警長賈維，代表律法；神父代表愛，因為神父沒有把尚萬強，一個剛被釋放的囚犯的偷竊行為告訴賈維，尚萬強因而有了重新做人的意願。賈維好像步步逼迫耶穌的法利賽人，以律法之名不斷想加罪於耶穌；而尚萬強卻因為耶穌的愛重新做人，並且重新認識自己。在影片的最後，因為尚萬強放走了被革命黨抓住的賈維，賈維因而無法下手射殺背著一個受傷的革命黨逃跑的尚萬強，賈維選擇自殺。影片似乎想讓觀眾覺得在愛和律法的交戰中，愛得勝了，律法失敗了。

我們都希望愛終於得勝，也希望永遠活在愛中，不受律法的綑綁。但是耶穌卻告訴我們，祂來是要成全律法，並不是要廢掉律法。我們之所以討厭律法，是因為人不明白神的愛；唯有在人做了父母之後，才知道律法原來就是愛，為了保護，為了讓孩子走在正路上，一生蒙福。律法和愛原來並不衝突，只是需要有一定的成熟度才能明白兩者之間的關係。

God Wants To Get You Alone

2019-05-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 9:1-13.  Let’s go!

God Wants To Get You Alone + God Is Just + How Do You See The Lord’s Servants?

2 Kings 9:1-2 (NIV) 
1  The prophet Elisha summoned a man from the company of the prophets and said to him, “Tuck your cloak into your belt, take this flask of oil with you and go to Ramoth Gilead.
2  When you get there, look for Jehu son of Jehoshaphat, the son of Nimshi. Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room.

On verses 1-6:  Elisha sends one of his junior prophets to speak to Jehu and anoint him as the next king of Israel.  Notice Elisha’s instructions to that junior prophet: “Go to him, get him away from his companions and take him into an inner room” (v2).  When God wants to speak to you an intimate and personal word to you, He often wants to get you in private first.

人能拿什麼換生命

2019-05-09 in /by

馬太福音16: 24_26人能拿什麼換生命

24 於是，耶穌對門徒說：「若有人要跟從我，就當捨己，背起他的十字架來跟從我。 25 因為凡要救自己生命的，必喪掉生命；凡為我喪掉生命的，必得著生命。 26 人若賺得全世界，賠上自己的生命，有什麼益處呢？人還能拿什麼換生命呢？

 有一個朋友說了一個見證。他在剛過十二歲生日不久後去看一場電影，買票時，他看到十二歲的價錢比十一歲的價錢貴了三毛錢。這當然是幾十年前的事了。那時他起了一個念頭，向收票員撒謊說他是十一歲。收票員連問都沒問就讓他進去了。回家後，他很得意地向父母炫耀省下了三毛錢的經過，他的父親問了他一句話：「兒子，你會為了一毛錢出賣你的靈魂嗎？」這句話一直留在他的心中，成為他成長時處事的一個警誡。

在今日的社會裡，我們經常會碰到這樣的挑戰。當耶穌說，跟從祂的人當捨己，背起十字架來跟隨祂時，這個十字架有時會以不同的形態出現在我們的生活裡。

有一位曾在非洲傳道的牧者說了一個故事，某天他在趕往開會的途中，看到有一個小男孩在路邊嚎啕大哭。他覺得應該停下來幫助那個男孩，可是又想到開會必然遲到，於是繼續往前到教堂。但是心裡一直有聲音催促他去找那個男孩，於是他找了一個朋友去把那個男孩帶到教堂。

God Is At His Best Even When You’re At Your Worst

2019-05-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 8:16-29.  Let’s go! 

2 Kings 8:16-18 (NIV) 
16  In the fifth year of Joram son of Ahab king of Israel, when Jehoshaphat was king of Judah, Jehoram son of Jehoshaphat began his reign as king of Judah. 
17  He was thirty-two years old when he became king, and he reigned in Jerusalem eight years. 
18  He walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done, for he married a daughter of Ahab. He did evil in the eyes of the LORD. 

On verses 16-18:  Jehoram succeeds his father Jehoshaphat as the king of Judah.  But instead of being a humble, wise, God-fearing king like his father Jehoshaphat was, Jehoram is said to have “walked in the ways of the kings of Israel, as the house of Ahab had done” (v18). 

體貼神的意思

2019-05-08 in /by

馬太福音16: 21_23體貼神的意思

21 從此，耶穌才指示門徒，他必須上耶路撒冷去，受長老、祭司長、文士許多的苦，並且被殺，第三日復活。 22 彼得就拉著他，勸他說：「主啊，萬不可如此！這事必不臨到你身上。」 23 耶穌轉過來，對彼得說：「撒旦，退我後邊去吧！你是絆我腳的，因為你不體貼神的意思，只體貼人的意思。」

在耶穌和彼得短短的對話中，主耶穌給我們一個很明確的信息：主知道祂在做什麼，祂要做什麼，祂不需要我們的意見。祂只要我們跟祂一樣，順服神的旨意。

其次，莫小看主耶穌對彼得的責備。當主耶穌指出彼得不體貼神的意思，只體貼人的意思時，祂用的名詞是：撒旦。

主耶穌是有備而來，在祂即將離世前，祂把門徒們帶到該撒利亞腓利比。在那裡，祂給了門徒一個畢業考。該撒利亞腓利比充滿了偶像崇拜和世俗的污穢，道德的敗壞。主耶穌也要我們看清楚自己身處的環境，也是和當年的該撒利亞腓利比一樣，換湯不換藥。

當我們置身在這樣的社會裡，我們能清楚地認識耶穌是誰嗎？還是人云亦云？我為什麼信耶穌？你又為什麼信耶穌呢？我們能像彼得受感而說：「祢是基督，是永生神的兒子。」嗎？假如現在有人問你為何信耶穌，你會怎樣回答呢？我聽過一些答案：信耶穌有平安，信耶穌有喜樂，耶穌會幫助我度過困難，幫我解決問題，等等。但是還沒有聽人回答：「因為祂是基督，是永生神的兒子。」

The King Has Spoken and You Are Restored

2019-05-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 8:1-15.  Let’s go!

2 Kings 8:6 (NIV) 
6  The king asked the woman about it, and she told him. Then he assigned an official to her case and said to him, “Give back everything that belonged to her, including all the income from her land from the day she left the country until now.” 

On verses 1-6:  Elisha the prophet tells the woman whose son he had raised back to life to move away from Israel for a time due to a severe famine that would hit Israel.  After being away from Israel for 7 years, the woan returns to Israel, but by this time the government has taken over her land.  Now the woman is at the mercy of the king, who has power to decide whether or not to give the land back to her.  It just so happens that on the same day that the woman appears before the king to request that her land be restored to her, Gehazi the servant of Elisha had been telling the king about what Elisha had done for this woman.  On this basis, the king speaks the word to restore the land to this woman, including all the income that her land had generated during her seven year absence.

Faith and Unbelief

2019-05-07 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 7:1-20.  Let’s go!

2 Kings 7:3-4 (NIV) 
3  Now there were four men with leprosy at the entrance of the city gate. They said to each other, “Why stay here until we die? 
4  If we say, ‘We’ll go into the city’–the famine is there, and we will die. And if we stay here, we will die. So let’s go over to the camp of the Arameans and surrender. If they spare us, we live; if they kill us, then we die.” 

On verses 1-20:  In the middle of a siege and famine in Samaria where food resources are increasingly scarce and expensive, Elisha the prophet predicts that within 24 hours the finest flour and barley will be sold for extremely cheap.  An officer of King Joram does not believe it.  In response to the officer’s unbelief, Elisha states that this officer will see it with his own eyes but will not eat any of it (v2). 

你們說我是誰

2019-05-07 in /by

馬太福音16: 13_20你們說我是誰

13 耶穌到了該撒利亞-腓立比的境內，就問門徒說：「人說我人子是誰？」 14 他們說：「有人說是施洗的約翰，有人說是以利亞，又有人說是耶利米或是先知裡的一位。」 15 耶穌說：「你們說我是誰？」 16 西門彼得回答說：「你是基督，是永生神的兒子。」 17 耶穌對他說：「西門‧巴約拿，你是有福的，因為這不是屬血肉的指示你的，乃是我在天上的父指示的。 18 我還告訴你：你是彼得，我要把我的教會建造在這磐石上，陰間的權柄不能勝過他。 19 我要把天國的鑰匙給你，凡你在地上所捆綁的，在天上也要捆綁；凡你在地上所釋放的，在天上也要釋放。」 20 當下，耶穌囑咐門徒，不可對人說他是基督。

我們都很希望知道別人是怎樣看我們的，也希望自己對自己有多一點的理解，看看兩者合在一起準不準，從而更加認識自己。因此很多人喜歡做個性測驗，看星座，看血型，看喜愛和討厭的顏色，等等。但是耶穌與我們不一樣，祂很清楚知道祂是誰，祂也希望世人知道祂是誰。

該撒利亞-腓立比座落在黑門山的山腳下，是約但河主要的發源地，和「但」城相距不遠。舊約時代以色列人在此膜拜巴力，希臘統治之後用潘神取代，此地改名為潘尼亞斯。除了潘神廟之外，大希律為了感謝羅馬該撒賜他此城，也在此地蓋了一座奧古斯都廟；此地還有希臘主神宙斯廟、聖山羊墳墓洞，等等。

防備法利賽人和撒都該人的酵

2019-05-06 in /by

馬太福音16: 5_12防備法利賽人和撒都該人的酵

5 門徒渡到那邊去，忘了帶餅。 6 耶穌對他們說：「你們要謹慎，防備法利賽人和撒都該人的酵。」 7 門徒彼此議論說：「這是因為我們沒有帶餅吧！」 8 耶穌看出來，就說：「你們這小信的人，為什麼因為沒有餅彼此議論呢？ 9 你們還不明白嗎？不記得那五個餅分給五千人，又收拾了多少籃子的零碎嗎？ 10 也不記得那七個餅分給四千人，又收拾了多少筐子的零碎嗎？ 11 我對你們說要防備法利賽人和撒都該人的酵，這話不是指著餅說的，你們怎麼不明白呢？」 12 門徒這才曉得他說的不是叫他們防備餅的酵，乃是防備法利賽人和撒都該人的教訓。

耶穌的門徒有時很可愛，十分糊塗。當耶穌提到要謹慎，防備法利賽人和撒都該人的酵時，他們竟因為帶餅而聯想到食物的酵。當他們回想這一段時，大概都會覺得很好笑。因此耶穌提醒他們，何必為了忘記帶餅而憂慮？幾個餅幾條魚給五千人、四千人吃飽的主，難道不能餵飽他們12個門徒？我們有時候會不會像門徒一樣，因為缺乏而忘記主是賜恩的神，只顧擔心而忘了在神沒有難成的事？

在當年耶穌要門徒防備法利賽人和撒都該人的教訓，在今天主會叫我們防備誰的教訓呢？在假新聞假消息充斥的世界裡，我們怎樣保守自己的心一直向著耶穌？

法利賽人和撒都該人都是當時宗教界的領袖，他們按著摩西五經教導之外，還加上許多人的見解；法利賽人自認虔誠，可是說一套做一套。在現在的社會裡，你可曾覺得來自上面的教導不合乎《聖經》？

Don’t Play the Blame Game + Know Who Your Real Enemy Is

2019-05-06 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 2 Kings 6:24-33.  Let’s go!

On verses 24-32:  King Ben-Hadad of Aram has laid seige to Samaria, Israel’s capital city.  Without ongoing access to food, Samaria suffers a severe famine.  The Israelites in Samaria are so desperate that in verses 26-29 we read about two Israelite mothers who apparently agreed that they would eat their sons to survive.  Now that one mother’s son has been eaten, the other mother refuses to let her own son suffer the same fate.  So they call out to Joram King of Israel to make a decision.  (This conflict between two mothers recalls a previous conflict in 1 Kings 3 when King Solomon had to judge between two mothers who both claim claim that their own son is the living one while the other’s son is the dead one.)  

What can we learn from this?  These mothers were willing to eat a son in order to survive, yet even their son’s flesh would not sustain them forever.  In contrast, in John 6:53-55 Jesus makes a statement that many would misunderstand: