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Learning to Listen

2026-05-15 in /by

I believe we can learn to listen to God if we are equipped with the right tools. The first tool is a regular time and place. Select a slot on your schedule and in a corner of your world, and claim it for God. Take enough time to say what you want and for God to say what he wants.

The second tool is an open Bible. Pray first, asking God to help you understand it. Study the Bible a little at a time. Read until a verse “hits” you. Then meditate on it and write it down.

The third tool is a listening heart. We know we’re listening when what we read in the Bible is what others see in our lives. If you want to be just like Jesus, spend time listening for him until you receive your lesson for the day, and then apply it.

God’s Invitation

2026-05-14 in /by

Some of us have tried to have a daily quiet time with God and have not been successful. And all of us are busy. So we let others tell us what God is saying. Isn’t that why we pay preachers? Isn’t that why we read Christian books? If that is your approach, your spiritual experiences are second-hand. Do you do that with other parts of your life—vacation, romance, eating? I don’t think so. There are certain things no one can do for you.

When God asks for your attention, he doesn’t want you to send a substitute. He invites you to vacation in his splendor. He invites you to feel the touch of his hand. He invites you to feast at his table. He wants to spend time with you. And with a little training, your time with God can be the highlight of your day.

与万民有别

2026-05-14 in , /by

〈利未记〉20章26节    你们要归我为圣，因为我─耶和华是圣的，并叫你们与万民有分别，使你们作我的民。

在古老的中国有个传说，大约是主前五世纪，有个人名叫西门豹。因为他很有才能，被派往黄河旁的一个地方邺地作县令。当地有个传说，黄河里住着河神，若不给河神娶媳妇，黄河就会发大水。百姓苦不堪言，因为替河神娶媳妇要强征民女，又征收额外的税捐，但是税捐却由官府和巫婆们私分。那年又到了河神娶媳妇的时候了，西门豹带了士兵也去参加。城里有权势的富人、官府里的衙役及被选中的女孩都到了，还有一个七十多岁的老巫婆和她的弟子们。

西门豹说：「把河神的老婆带过来，看看她漂亮不漂亮。」有人把女孩带过来，站在西门豹面前。西门豹看了一眼，就回头对众人说：「这个女孩不漂亮， 够不上做河神的老婆。可是河神今天一定等著迎亲，就请大巫婆走一趟，到河里通知河神，等找到一个漂亮的女子，过一天再来。」说著，还没等众人明白是怎么回事，就命令士兵抬起老巫婆，抛进河里去了。隔了一会儿，西门豹说：「巫婆怎么走了这么长时间还没有回话，叫个徒弟去催催她。」于是又命令士兵把巫婆的一个徒弟扔进河里，这样前前后后，扔了三个徒弟到河里。

A Listening Heart

2026-05-13 in /by

“Let he who has ears to hear, use them.” Eight times in the Gospels and eight times in the book of Revelation we are reminded that it’s not enough just to have ears—it’s necessary to use them.

Jesus spent regular time with God, praying and listening. Luke 5:16 (NIV) tells us, “Jesus often withdrew to lonely places and prayed.” If Jesus, the Son of God, the sinless Savior of humankind, thought it worthwhile to clear his calendar to pray, wouldn’t we be wise to do the same? Jesus also spent regular time in God’s Word. Three times in the wilderness temptation he used the Word of God to repel the attack of Satan.

If we are to be just like Jesus, then we need to imitate his habits of prayer and Bible reading.

你们要圣洁

2026-05-13 in , /by

〈利未记〉19章1-2节     耶和华对摩西说：「你晓谕以色列全会众说：你们要圣洁，因为我耶和华─你们的　神是圣洁的。」

在网路上流行着一个住在北京的小网红，她名叫乔治亚Georgia，父亲是比利时人，母亲是中国人。她才两岁多，却己经会用三个国家的语言流利地沟通。她有两个大大的眼睛，卷曲的头发，十分可爱。她的爸爸经常这样开始：「你今天学到什么了？」

Geo Geo，他这样称呼她，就会开始回想：「不可以把双手放在桌上……吃饭……要洗手……」有时利用小朋友，教大家怎样分垃圾。有一次Geo Geo在公园玩不开心，嘟著嘴找爸爸，因为有几个阿姨看她太可爱，猛拍照。爸爸就问：「Geo Geo不高兴，因为这是不礼貌的，对不对？她们要先问Geo Geo可不可以拍，对不对？」小Geo Geo听了猛点头。

这个连续的影集叫「家有萌娃」，每一次我都觉得这个比利时爸爸好有智慧地在教导，引导他的小女儿，让她知道对与错，建立是与非的观念。我有时就觉得，神也是如此在引导，教导以色列人。在埃及生活了四百年的以色列人，做了四百年的奴隶，除了以色列人一些家传的观念，很多事情都受到埃及人的影响，他们其实非常单纯。

我可以试婚或 同居吗?

2026-05-12 in , /by

〈利未记〉 18:4 你们要遵守我的典章，守我的律例，按此而行。我是耶和华你们的神。

读〈利未记〉 18章时，我恍惚有种错觉，这不是时空转移，而是神透过时空，向人类发出的宣告。现代人以为他们要求的性自由是新运动，但是好像在远古就有人在这样做了，日光之下没有新鲜的事。

我们总以为神的诫命是制止人的自由，更正确的说法，应该是神在教导人怎样尊重自己，彼此尊重，也尊重动物和动物的生命。要做回一个神所造的人，就要先找回对自己的尊重，尊重神赐给自己的生命，性别，性情和天份，等等。

性是神赐给人在婚姻里的美好礼物，当人把它用在不当的关系里，就会产生许多问题。它最先会影响健康，有许多疾病都因为滥性而引起；它影响到家庭的和谐，破坏信任，甚至使孩子们成长后对婚姻产生惧怕。它甚至会召来神的审判而至灭亡，像所多玛和蛾摩拉一样；有许多个人的生命或社区都受到相当大的影响。

The Touch of Jesus

2026-05-12 in /by

People longed for the compassionate touch of Jesus. Each one who came was touched, and each one touched was changed.But none was touched or changed more than the unnamed leper described in the first four verses of Matthew chapter 8. “He bowed before Jesus and said, ‘Lord, you can heal me if you will.’ And Jesus reached out his hand and touched the man and said, ‘I will. Be healed!’ And immediately the man was healed from his disease.”

In New Testament times, leprosy was the most dreaded disease. In Scripture, the leper is symbolic of the ultimate outcast. A person doesn’t have to have leprosy to feel quarantined. The divorced, handicapped, unemployed, depressed, and terminally ill know this feeling. Jesus touched the untouchables of the world. Will you do the same?

我可以吃血吗？

2026-05-11 in , /by

利未记 17:14  论到一切活物的生命，就在血中。所以我对以色列人说，无论什么活物的血，你们都不可吃，因为一切活物的血就是牠的生命。凡吃了血的，必被剪除。

我可以吃血吗？冬天来临时，火锅的季节也上巿了，巿面上流行一样好吃的产品，就是鸭血。听说拿鸭血下火锅，非常好吃。猪血鸡血都有人在吃，而且特别宣传其美味，令人食指大动。令我惊讶的是，有许多牧者都觉得吃血没问题。因为耶稣都说了：「入口的不能污秽人，出口的乃能污秽人。(太15:11) 」

保罗也说过，「凡神所造的物都是好的，若感谢著领受，就没有一样可弃的。(提前4:4) 」神也曾经在异象中，三次叫彼得吃不洁之物和俗物，因为神所洁净的，不可当作俗物 (使10:9-16)。这些都是《圣经》的教导，难道是新约和旧约的不同吗？

那么在〈使徒行传〉的耶路撒冷会议中，耶稣的弟弟雅各为何做了一个总结：「所以据我的意见，不可难为那归服神的外邦人；只要写信，吩咐他们禁戒偶像的污秽和奸淫，并勒死的牲畜和血。」(使15:19-20)

Thirsty for Mercy

2026-05-11 in /by

Ephesians 4:32 says, “Be kind and loving to each other, and forgive each other just as God forgave you in Christ.”

Because Jesus has forgiven us, we can forgive others. Because he lives in us, you and I can do the same. Oh, I could never do that, you object. The hurt is so deep. Just seeing the person makes me cringe. Perhaps that’s the problem: you’re seeing too much of the wrong person. Try shifting your glance away from the one who hurt you and setting your eyes on the One who has saved you.

Please understand. Relationships don’t thrive because the guilty are punished but because the innocent are merciful. Are there any relationships in your world thirsty for mercy? Is there anyone who needs to be assured of your grace? Jesus made sure his disciples had no reason to doubt his love. Why don’t you do the same?

A Passionate Moment

2026-05-11 in /by

Few situations stir panic like being trapped in a relationship. Some opt to flee, to get out of the relationship. Others fight, and tension becomes a way of life. A few, however, discover another treatment: forgiveness.

In Jesus’ day the task of washing feet was reserved for the lowest of the servants. But in the thirteenth chapter of John, the one with the basin and towel is the king of the universe. What a passionate moment when Jesus silently washes the feet of all the disciples…even Judas. Jesus knows that, by morning, these men will bury their heads in shame. Remarkable. He forgave their sin before they even committed it. He offered mercy before they even sought it.