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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.

赎罪日 Yom Kippur

2026-05-10 in , /by

利未记 16:6-10亚伦要把赎罪祭的公牛奉上，为自己和本家赎罪；也要把两只公山羊安置在会幕门口、耶和华面前，为那两只羊拈阄，一阄归与耶和华，一阄归与阿撒泻勒。亚伦要把那拈阄归与耶和华的羊献为赎罪祭，但那拈阄归与阿撒泻勒的羊要活着安置在耶和华面前，用以赎罪，打发人送到旷野去，归与阿撒泻勒。

根据犹太传统：起初，上帝创造天地 (创1:1) 。创造的第一天是在希伯来提叙黎月（犹太历七月）的第一天。犹太新年(Rosh Hashanah) 字面上的意思是「年头」，今年(2020年)落在阳历9月18日。当天黄昏，便进入了犹太历5781年。犹太历不是从亚伯拉罕被拣选、摩西被呼召或大卫王朝的时候开始，而是在宇宙被造时开始的，因为《圣经》是万物的历史。

对于犹太人，神在《圣经》里有很明确的指示，新年代表审判，因此要自我内省、祷告和悔改。新年也是庄严的节期，用来进行个人灵命反省和思考人类未来的方向，这节日是「敬畏的日子」(Days of Awe)，用来检视自己的生活并重新将自己归向神，与神和好。

患漏症的处理

2026-05-08 in , /by

利未记15章11节   患漏症的人没有用水涮手，无论摸了谁，谁必不洁净到晚上，并要洗衣服，用水洗澡。

可能有的人看到这章经文的主题会觉得很不自在，怎么在这样神圣的一本书里，会出现这样的主题呢？这种事情不是都隐秘不宣的吗？但是当我们再读下去时，就会发现原来只有造人的神才知道人的每一层需要；也相对地发现，耶稣所讲的：「从人里面出来的，那才能污秽人。」这句话何等真实。原来人的里面是那样地藏污纳垢，从亚伦的两个儿子取凡火献祭，到人长大痲疯，以及屋子长大痲疯如何洁净，让我们充份体会到人的本质是何等地肮脏悖逆。也让我们明白，原来罪的本质，非用血不能得以洁净。

英文比较能表达这一章所要说的，有关人身体产生的分泌物discharge，一旦到了体外便是不洁，需要注意如何去洁净，以免细菌到处感染，使人生病。因为分泌物包括的不只是男女性器官流出的东西，分泌物也包括口里吐出的痰，鼻子出来的鼻涕，等等。只要我们思想一下，便会承认凡是从肉体里出来的东西，都是不洁的。以前有些老祖母把食物在嘴里嚼烂了，再放到婴儿或小孩嘴里，虽是一番好意，但是给现代母亲看到，一定会大叫，「不要这样，太脏了。」为什么口水在自己嘴里不觉得脏，一旦到了嘴巴外面就变脏了？

What We Can Become

2026-05-07 in /by

Jesus is pure; we are greedy. He is peaceful; we are hassled. He is spiritual; we are earthbound. The distance between our hearts and his seems so immense. How could we ever hope to have the heart of Jesus?

Ready for a surprise? You already do. If you have given your life to Jesus, Jesus has given himself to you. Paul says in 1 Corinthians 2:16 (TLB), “Strange as it seems, we Christians actually do have within us a portion of the very thoughts and mind of Christ.”

God has ambitious plans for us. The same one who saved your soul longs to remake your heart. Let’s imagine what it means to be just like Jesus. Let’s look long into the heart of Christ. Perhaps in seeing him, we will see what we can become.

染疾之宅得洁净

2026-05-07 in , /by

利未记 14: 34 -36    你们到了我赐给你们为业的迦南地，我若使你们所得为业之地的房屋中有大痲疯的灾病，房主就要去告诉祭司说：『据我看，房屋中似乎有灾病。』祭司还没有进去察看灾病以前，就要吩咐人把房子腾空，免得房子里所有的都成了不洁净；然后祭司要进去察看房子。

这一段经文是神给以色列人的预备，让他们知道进了迦南地之后，若是碰到屋子有问题时，应该如何处理。因为以色列人在旷野住帐蓬，到迦南地居住的情况就会不一样。因为在旷野里经常有太阳在晒，帐蓬里十分干燥，而且经常移动，比较不会有发霉的问题；但是屋子不一样，屋子住久了就会有问题，因为屋子是不移动的，例如浴室或卫生间若是一直很潮湿，墙壁和天花板缝隙便会逐渐产生霉菌，影响到居住者的健康。有人说，霉菌和潮湿的墙壁是孪生兄弟，因此神把处理房子的一些问题事先教导他们，免得他们的健康受影响。

但是神既然带领以色列人进迦南，又应允他们所得为业之地房屋，为何会领他们到发霉的屋子里去住呢？在〈申命记〉六章10-11节，摩西说：「耶和华你的神领你进祂向你列祖亚伯拉罕、以撒、雅各起誓应许给你的地，那里有城邑，又大又美，非你所建造的；有房屋，装满各样美物，非你所装满的；有凿成的水井，非你所凿成的；还有葡萄园、橄榄园，非你所栽种的，你吃了，而且饱足。」就像以色列人出埃及时，神让埃及人因为惧怕，而把所有的美物都给了以色列人；神也应许，不仅把迦南地赐给以色列人，就连迦南人的房屋和美物也都要赐给以色列人。

The Heart of Jesus

2026-05-06 in /by

The heart of Jesus was pure. Peter traveled with Jesus for three and a half years, and he described Jesus as a “lamb, unblemished and spotless” (1 Peter 1:19). The heart of Jesus was peaceful. The disciples shouted for fear in the storm, but Jesus slept through it. Peter drew his sword to fight the soldiers, but Jesus lifted his hand to heal.

The heart of Jesus was purposeful. He aimed at one goal—to save humanity from its sin. “The Son of man came to seek and to save the lost” (Luke 19:10). His heart was spiritual. He took his instructions from God. It was his habit to go to worship. He memorized scripture. His times of prayer guided him. John 5:19 says, “The Son does whatever the Father does.” The heart of Jesus was spiritual. Let ours be the same.

长大痲疯得洁净的日子

2026-05-06 in , /by

利未记14章8-9节     求洁净的人当洗衣服，剃去毛发，用水洗澡，就洁净了；然后可以进营，只是要在自己的帐棚外居住七天。第七天，再把头上所有的头发与胡须、眉毛，并全身的毛，都剃了；又要洗衣服，用水洗身，就洁净了。

《圣经》里的大痲疯包括了不同种类的皮肤病，因此当我们读到「长大痲疯得洁净的日子」时，就明白有的皮肤病会因为自身抵抗力或免疫力的增强而痊愈；但是真正的大痲疯（韩森氏病Hansen’s Disease）因为是由痲风杆菌引起，则必须接受药物治疗才会痊愈。根据维基百科，目前确诊痳疯病在吃药的一周内就有99%的病菌能被消除，并切断传染性，持续吃药两年，病情能基本治愈。那么在没有药物治疗，又没有神蹟的情况下，患者怎么能够得到洁净呢？

一般的疾病得到医治后，我们称之为痊愈。但是长大痲疯的人被称为不洁，若有人不小心与之接触到，那人也会变为不洁，需要隔离观察一段时间，确定没有被感染。因此若有长大痲疯（会传染的皮肤病）的人痊愈，《圣经》称之为洁净了，就需要让祭司检查，才能回到社区生活。

不洁净了, 不洁净了!

2026-05-05 in , /by

利未记 13:9  人有了大痲疯的灾病，就要将他带到祭司面前。

当祭司很不容易，除了要学习怎样维持圣所的供奉，献祭时宰牛宰羊，还要学习诊断大痲疯，真是十八般武艺样样都要会。但是医学上的大痲疯和《圣经》里讲的大痲疯不大一样，医学上的大痲疯是「韩生氏病Hansen’s Disease」，由癞杆菌（又称痲疯杆菌）所引起，主要侵犯人体的皮肤、粘膜以及周围末梢神经，有时也侵犯人体器官，若不治疗会造成知觉麻木，最后丧失肌肉控制力和手脚残障。但是癞杆菌一遇到空气极易死亡，到目前尚无法在实验室培养，且95%的人都有自然的免疫力，因此并不像人们传言的那么恐怖。

《圣经》里所讲的大痲疯，包括了许多种皮肤病，例如癣、疖和白斑；就如中国的传统医书也把疠、癞、大风、痲疯、天刑等，都称为癞病（即痲疯病）。医学上的大痲疯虽不易传染，但有很多种皮肤病都会传染。古代没有什么公共卫生的知识，若不把会传染的皮肤病加以隔离，那必然很难控制疾病的蔓延。因此皮肤若有异样，隔离一段时间，加以观察，再确定是否留在社群中或予以隔离，不但可以保护健康的百姓，也可以保护有病的患者，让他们有足够的时间和空间去疗养和康复。神定的「七天」，正是大部份病毒或病菌发展的时间，也是看看患者是否能自己产生抵抗力而自行痊愈的一段时间。

Jesus Wants to Change Your Heart

2026-05-05 in /by

The love of people often increases with performance and decreases with mistakes. Not so with God’s love. He loves you right where you are, but he refuses to leave you that way. And so he cleanses us of filth: immorality, dishonesty, prejudice, bitterness, greed. He wants us to be just like Jesus. Isn’t that good news? You aren’t stuck with today’s personality. You are tweakable!

Where did we get the idea we cannot change? Why do we say things such as, “It’s my nature to worry,” or “I’ll always be pessimistic; I’m just that way,” or, “I have a bad temper; I can’t help the way I react.” Who says? If our bodies malfunction, we seek help. Shouldn’t we do the same for our hearts? Can’t we seek aid for our sour attitudes? Of course we can! Jesus wants to change our hearts. Can you imagine a better offer?