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Let’s Press On to Acknowledge the Lord

2019-01-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hosea 6:1-11.  Let’s go!

Hosea 6:1-2 (NIV) 
1 “Come, let us return to the LORD. He has torn us to pieces but he will heal us; he has injured us but he will bind up our wounds.
2 After two days he will revive us; on the third day he will restore us, that we may live in his presence.

On verses 1-2:  For the rest of our lives on earth, we can be sure that whenever God allows us to go through difficulties or defeats, it’s not because He is cruel or indifferent.  It’s because His ultimate purpose is to revive us, to restore us, to make us stronger than we were before, and to know Him more intimately, “that we may live in His presence” (v2).

清心的人有福了！

2019-01-12 in /by

馬太福音5:8_清心的人有福了！

8 清心的人有福了！因為他們必得見神。 

8 “You’re blessed when you get your inside world—your mind and heart—put right. Then you can see God in the outside world.

清心是什麼意思？我們不如從反面來思考。不清心是什麼意思？很快你就有答案了，不清心就是心裡亂七八糟的，被一大堆俗事雜事給堵住了。不清，或者還有骯髒的意思，也就是在心裡罵人、看不起他人，性幻想，嫉妒或是苦毒，甚至想謀害人。不清就是濁，當我們的心好像污水那樣混濁時，我們連自己都看不見了，更別說要看見神了。

A New Spirit In You

2019-01-11 in /by

Today’s passage is Hosea 5:1-15. Let’s go! Here are 3 short points to share with you from Hosea 5:1-15.
 
Hosea 5:3 (NIV)  I know all about Ephraim; Israel is not hidden from me. Ephraim, you have now turned to prostitution; Israel is corrupt. 
 
On verse 3:  In case you’re wondering who Ephraim is, Ephraim here is another name for the nation of Israel.  Ephraim was one of the 12 tribes of Israel, but later was often used by the Old Testament prophets to refer to Israel as a whole.

憐恤人的人有福了！

2019-01-10 in /by

馬太福音5:7_憐恤人的人有福了！

7 憐恤人的人有福了！因為他們必蒙憐恤。

7 “You’re blessed when you care. At the moment of being ‘care-full,’ you find yourselves cared for. (MSG)

當你看到“憐恤”這詞時，是否心裡會閃過許多同義詞？例如：同情, 憐憫,可憐，等等，諸如此類的。彷彿自己高人一等，所以施捨一下幾個小錢。但是我想那不是主耶穌的原意。主耶穌講過一個誰是你的隣舍的故事。

祂說有一個人在山路上被搶劫，並且被打傷了。有兩個路人經過，一個是祭司，一個是利未人，他們都看見他，卻繞道而行。只有一個撒瑪利亞人經過時，看見他就動了慈心，替他包裹傷處，又送他到旅店休養(路10:30-37)。耶穌說，這位照顧被強盜打傷的人便是傷者的隣舍，因為他憐憫那位傷者。這就是耶穌說的憐憫，也就是在別人的不幸上看到自己的責任。

The Way God Sees You Now Because of Jesus

2019-01-10 in /by

Hosea 4:1-2 (NIV)
1 Hear the word of the LORD, you Israelites, because the LORD has a charge to bring against you who live in the land: “There is no faithfulness, no love, no acknowledgment of God in the land. 2 There is only cursing, lying and murder, stealing and adultery; they break all bounds, and bloodshed follows bloodshed.

Here in Hosea 4 Joel describes the way God saw the people of Israel and their priests — as nothing but sinners (v1-2), given to unfaithfulness and idolatry (v12-13, v17), hurt and hurting one another, lovers of evil (v18), unsatisfied (v10), stubborn (v16), stumbling (v5), rejected by God (v6), and wasting away (v3). Let this chapter be a reminder that until Jesus Christ came and reversed our fortunes, Hosea 4 was our destiny too. If it were not for Jesus, Hosea 4 is a perfect description of how God would see us today.

飢渴慕義的人有福了！

2019-01-10 in /by

馬太福音5:6_飢渴慕義的人有福了！

6 飢渴慕義的人有福了！因為他們必得飽足。

6 “You’re blessed when you’ve worked up a good appetite for God. He’s food and drink in the best meal you’ll ever eat.(MSG)

飢渴，在信息聖經裡是指good appetite好胃口；慕義，是指for God。有很多人試著解釋這個“義”字，但是我覺得再沒有比“神”這個解釋更好的了。有的人把這個義解釋為公義，但我想這個義是指神本身，因為只有神才擔得起這個“義”字。當一個人在尋找神時，他的心態就是渴求神的臨在，神必然親近他，滿足他。至於公義，那是人對神的期待，盼望神在他們的生命中給他們一個公平。

3 Truths about God’s Love for You

2019-01-09 in /by

Today’s passage is Hosea 3:1-5.  It contains a powerful lesson for us as we begin our fast together.  Open your Bible, click on the above Scripture link or check out your GAME booklet to read today’s passage.  Let’s go!

First, God’s love for you is unconditional (v1).  We see God’s unconditional love in verse 1 where it says “the Lord loves the Israelites, though they turn to other gods and love the sacred raisin cakes” (v1).

To illustrate His unconditional love, God tells the prophet Hosea to love his wife, though she had cheated on him, with that same unconditional love: “Go, show your love to your wife again, though she is loved by another man and is an adulteress.  Love her as the Lord loves the Israelites” (v1).

溫柔的人有福了！

2019-01-08 in /by

馬太福音5:5_溫柔的人有福了！

5 溫柔的人有福了！因為他們必承受地土。

5 “You’re blessed when you’re content with just who you are—no more, no less. That’s the moment you find yourselves proud owners of everything that can’t be bought.

有很多人喜歡畢德生牧師的信息聖經The Message，也有不少人批評他翻譯得不像聖經。畢牧師翻譯聖經的動機來自他的教學經驗。當他在教〈加拉太書〉時，他發現學生完全不能從英文的聖經裡感受到保羅寫信的那份心情。所以他開始用第一手的翻譯來寫聖經，為了讓讀經的人可以真正地理解經文裡的含意，而有豐富的收穫。

12 Ways God Loves You

2019-01-08 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Hosea 2:14-23.  Let’s go!

On verses 14-23:  After describing in previous verses how God wanted to punish Israel for their unfaithfulness to Him, Hosea now goes on to describe the amazing, forgiving, second-chance-giving love that God extends to Israel.  From these verses we can learn 12 ways that God loves you and me.

1. God’s love takes initiative. God is a leader and, like a good leader, God takes the initiative.  God will not force Himself upon you, but He does take the first step and waits for you to respond.  He stands at the door and knocks.