Entries by

You Are Blessed Because Jesus Obeyed

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 25:35-55. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 25:35-38 (NIV)
35  “‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.
36  Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you.

On verses 35-38:   Just as God showed undeserved kindness to the Israelites, God expected the Israelites to show undeserved kindness to one another.  Likewise, just as God has shown undeserved kindness to us, may we show undeserved kindness to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

一位王的墜落

歷代志上10:13-14   這樣,掃羅死了。因為他干犯耶和華,沒有遵守耶和華的命;又因他求問交鬼的婦人,沒有求問耶和華,所以耶和華使他被殺,把國歸於耶西的兒子大衛。

約翰福音14:6  耶穌說:我就是道路、真理、生命。若不藉著我,沒有人能到父那裡去。

掃羅是以色列人的第一位王。當百姓渴望一位能帶領他們如列國般的君王時,神揀選了掃羅(撒母耳記上10:17-25),一位身材高大、健壯俊美的便雅憫人(撒母耳記上9:1-2)。他起初謙卑,甚至在被膏立時還躲了起來。然而,權位與掌控漸漸腐蝕了他的內心。

掃羅王的失敗,不單是軍事的潰敗,更是心靈的崩壞。他在關鍵時刻違背神的命令,危急窘迫時擅自獻上燔祭(撒母耳記上13:5-14)、征戰得勝時貪圖擄掠財物(撒母耳記上15章);同時,他對大衛的嫉妒吞噬了他的理性,使他漸漸遠離真光。

掃羅王的最後一夜,不是跪在神面前尋求幫助,而是轉向黑暗,去求問交鬼的婦人,尋找亡靈的答案(撒母耳記上28章)。在基利波山上,非利士人與以色列人交戰,掃羅王身受重傷,他不願落入敵人手中,被迫自刃,掃羅王和三個兒子一同死亡(撒母耳記上31章)。那一刻,他的生命結束了,但更早之前,他的信心與順服就已經死去。

Meet Your Year of Jubilee

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 25:35-55. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 25:35-38 (NIV)
35  “‘If one of your countrymen becomes poor and is unable to support himself among you, help him as you would an alien or a temporary resident, so he can continue to live among you.
36  Do not take interest of any kind from him, but fear your God, so that your countryman may continue to live among you.

On verses 35-38:   Just as God showed undeserved kindness to the Israelites, God expected the Israelites to show undeserved kindness to one another.  Likewise, just as God has shown undeserved kindness to us, may we show undeserved kindness to one another as brothers and sisters in Christ.

等候改變的時刻

詩篇127:1  若不是耶和華建造房屋,建造的人就枉然勞力;若不是耶和華看守城池,看守的人就枉然警醒。

一位姊妹分享她和母親的互動關係。

母親因為過往遭遇,習慣將自己身心全力投注於家中的清潔工作,縱使家中一塵不染,她仍隨時屈身打掃。長年家事工作使得母親身體孱弱,姊妹不時勸阻母親勿過度操勞,且積極想帶母親外出活動、鼓勵參與教會長者聚會,但屢遭拒絕。

為了母親身體著想,避免她習慣性的清掃房間,姊妹想了個點子,每天上班前就先把家中幾個房間的門給鎖了,心想這樣母親就無法不斷地做清潔工作。沒想到幾天下來,姊妹發現母親心情變差了,而且兩人間的關係變得有點緊張。

過了幾天,姊妹因職場工作需要,獲知居家防火消防資訊,提醒人在家中不要緊鎖房門,避免火災發生時逃生不易。姊妹猛然醒悟,回家趕緊打開房間門鎖,跟母親道歉,向母親說明原委,母女兩人緊繃的關係瞬間冰釋。

Sold Out But Jesus Bought Me Back

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 25:23-34. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 25:23 (NIV)
23  “‘The land must not be sold permanently, because the land is mine and you are but aliens and my tenants.

On verse 23:  Verses 23-28 describe a system where the Israelites could get back their land even after they sold it, either by buying it back themselves or, at the latest, receiving it back in the Year of Jubilee (For more on the Year of Jubilee, see my GAME sharing from yesterday On Leviticus 25:8-22.)

饒恕帶出盼望

約翰福音10:10-11  盜賊來,無非要偷竊,殺害,毀壞;我來了,是要叫羊得生命,並且得的更豐盛。我是好牧人;好牧人為羊捨命。

饒恕人很難!因為其實有時候,我們是在對神生氣:「神祢真的愛我嗎?祢怎麼忍心看我受到這樣的傷害?」

提姆凱勒牧師曾分享,我們常會鼓勵受苦的人要知道,耶穌也曾這樣受傷害、被拒絕;但光知道耶穌能理解我們的傷害,只能很表面地安慰我們,受苦時不孤單。

能更深帶來安慰的是我們知道,耶穌不只能理解,祂一點都不樂見我們經歷傷害,所以祂出手解決了這一切傷害背後的大魔王。耶穌道成肉身、釘十字架,就是為了要終結罪帶給世人的傷害,這是我們活在有罪的世界中,能面對未來的「盼望」。

這份「盼望」讓我放下釘死別人的權利,讓耶穌去對付傷害我的人背後罪的權勢,讓耶穌去對付仇敵利用罪在這世上所做的偷竊、殺害和毀壞。

饒恕始於被饒恕

羅馬書5:8  惟有基督在我們還作罪人的時候為我們死,神的愛就在此向我們顯明了。

饒恕人是個困難的挑戰,它的難處在於我們認為對方不配得這樣的寬容。

提姆凱勒牧師曾分享,他在教會中做婚姻諮商時,如果夫妻雙方都出軌,就算兩人都不想挽救婚姻,但他們不會陷入定罪對方的苦毒中,因為他們都看見自己的軟弱。

反倒是如果夫妻中只有一方出軌,另一方將會很難跨越傷害,饒恕對方,因為被傷害的這一方可能認為自己沒有錯,或是不容易看見自己的錯。

饒恕的力量來自,很真實面對自己的罪和軟弱,並且很真實經驗到神無條件的接納、白白的恩典、以及捨己的愛。唯有深刻看見自己的罪有多糟糕,自己有多軟弱,才會發現耶穌的愛、耶穌的赦免有多寶貴。

Resting Takes Faith

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 25:8-22. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 25:8-12 (NIV)
8  “‘Count off seven sabbaths of years–seven times seven years–so that the seven sabbaths of years amount to a period of forty-nine years.
9  Then have the trumpet sounded everywhere on the tenth day of the seventh month; on the Day of Atonement sound the trumpet throughout your land.

On verses 8-12:  Starting at Leviticus 25:8 we read about how every 50th year the Israelites were to proclaim it a Year of Jubilee.  The Year of Jubilee was meant to be:

– a time of reunion when Israelites would return to their family clans and to the places where they grew up (v10, 13);

Work Hard, Rest Well

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is Leviticus 25:1-7. With a humble heart, see what sticks out to you in this passage.  Is there a verse, a phrase, or a lesson you think the Holy Spirit may be highlighting for you in this passage?  After you’ve thought about the passage yourself a bit, read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

Leviticus 25:1-7 (NIV)
1  The LORD said to Moses on Mount Sinai,
2  “Speak to the Israelites and say to them: ‘When you enter the land I am going to give you, the land itself must observe a sabbath to the LORD.

On verses 1-7:  Here God prepares the Israelites for when they enter the promised land.  He commands the Israelites to work the land they have been given (i.e. sow the fields, prune the vineyards and gather the crops for six years) (v2-3), but in the seventh year they are to give their land a rest and to live off of what the land produces that year (v4-7).

什麼是饒恕?

羅馬書5:1 我們既因信稱義,就藉著我們的主耶穌基督得與神相和。

哥林多後書12:9  祂的恩典夠我用的,因為祂的能力是在人的軟弱上顯得完全。

當我們被傷害,會有負面情緒,在痛苦中甚至會希望對方受到懲罰,承受跟我同等的痛苦。有一次當我在禱告時,神提醒我,饒恕別人其實就是讓別人活過來。

「你們從前在過犯和未受割禮的肉體中死了,神赦免了你們一切過犯,便叫你們與基督一同活過來;又塗抹了在律例上所寫、攻擊我們、有礙於我們的字據,把它撤去,釘在十字架上。」(歌羅西書2:13-14)

這段經文提到,我們在罪中死了,神讓我們在基督裡活過來。耶穌撤銷我們的罪債紀錄,把這些不利於我們的控告都與祂同釘在十字架上,我們的罪被赦免了,所以我們在上帝面前能不被定罪,能在上帝面前活著。

當我想著別人對我造成的傷害,想著他該負上的代價,其實就是將他定死罪,讓他死在錯誤之中,沒有辦法能獲得機會活著。當我選擇讓對方有機會活著,撤掉致他於死地的控告,這就是饒恕了。