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与神相处/小信也无妨

2025-03-13 in , /by

创世记18:9-15 他们问亚伯拉罕说：「你妻子撒拉在哪里？」他说：「在帐篷里。」 10 三人中有一位说：「到明年这时候，我必要回到你这里，你的妻子撒拉必生一个儿子。」撒拉在那人后边的帐篷门口也听见了这话。 11 亚伯拉罕和撒拉年纪老迈，撒拉的月经已断绝了。 12 撒拉心里暗笑，说：「我既已衰败，我主也老迈，岂能有这喜事呢？」 13 耶和华对亚伯拉罕说：「撒拉为什么暗笑，说：『我既已年老，果真能生养吗？』 14 耶和华岂有难成的事吗？到了日期，明年这时候，我必回到你这里，撒拉必生一个儿子。」 15 撒拉就害怕，不承认，说：「我没有笑。」那位说：「不然，你实在笑了。」

希伯来书11章谈到古人在信心上得到美好的证据，这许多见证人如同云彩围绕着我们；然而想到自己，就有点担忧自己的小信，甚至有些时候的不信，不禁会问：「神啊，祢能悦纳小信的我吗？」

撒拉听到天使对她丈夫亚伯拉罕说，明年，撒拉会生一个儿子！她面对现实：亚伯拉罕已经99岁，她也89岁，而且月经已断绝了；于是心里暗笑，说：「我既已衰败，我主也老迈，岂能有这喜事呢？」撒拉的小举动，当场被天使抓包，她害怕，不敢承认，但天使没有责备，只坚定地告诉他们：在神岂有难成的事吗？（创世记18:9-15）结果，神改变现实成为真实：亚伯拉罕100岁，撒拉90岁，生了以撒。

Do THIS if you want God to move powerfully in your life

2025-03-13 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 18:1-15.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

1 Kings 18:1-2 (NIV) 
1 After a long time, in the third year, the word of the LORD came to Elijah: “Go and present yourself to Ahab, and I will send rain on the land.” 
2 So Elijah went to present himself to Ahab…

On verses 1-2a:  God used Elijah to perform some of the most incredible miracles you will read about in the Bible.  Why Elijah?  I believe Elijah’s secret is not just that he was gifted, but that he was obedient.  Whenever God told him to do something, in faith he would obey.  As verse 2 says, “So Elijah went…”.  Remember that in this case God is telling Elijah to present himself to King Ahab, the very person who had been trying to kill Elijah for years.  Yet Elijah goes in faith and obeys God’s Word.  

How’s Your “Miracles Memory”?

2025-03-12 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 17:17-24.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 17:17-18 (NIV)
17  Some time later the son of the woman who owned the house became ill. He grew worse and worse, and finally stopped breathing.
18  She said to Elijah, “What do you have against me, man of God? Did you come to remind me of my sin and kill my son?”

On verses 17-18:  A mother experiences her worst nightmare: the death of her child.  In this case it wasn’t a sudden death but an illness which took her son’s life, one where his sickness got worse and worse until he was gone.  It’s not clear why the woman would blame her son’s death on Elijah, the prophet who was staying as a guest in her house.  Sometimes when we can’t understand why something is happening to us, we can be tempted to blame God for what we’re going through. 

勇于承认犯错

2025-03-12 in , /by

创世记3:14-19    耶和华神对蛇说：「你既做了这事，就必受咒诅，比一切的牲畜野兽更甚！你必用肚子行走，终身吃土。 15 我又要叫你和女人彼此为仇，你的后裔和女人的后裔也彼此为仇，女人的后裔要伤你的头，你要伤他的脚跟。」 16 又对女人说：「我必多多加增你怀胎的苦楚，你生产儿女必多受苦楚。你必恋慕你丈夫，你丈夫必管辖你。」 17 又对亚当说：「你既听从妻子的话，吃了我所吩咐你不可吃的那树上的果子，地必为你的缘故受咒诅，你必终身劳苦，才能从地里得吃的。 18 地必给你长出荆棘和蒺藜来，你也要吃田间的菜蔬。 19 你必汗流满面才得糊口，直到你归了土，因为你是从土而出的。你本是尘土，仍要归于尘土。」  

面对神的询问，亚当将罪责推给夏娃，夏娃又推卸给蛇，这就是我们常经历的犯罪三部曲：人犯罪、逃避神、推诿卸责。人犯罪违背神，人与神间有了裂痕，逃避神和推诿卸责更加深人神间的鸿沟，使得人离神愈来愈远，因此，神的惩罚随即依序临到蛇、夏娃、亚当（创世记3:14-19）。

耶和华说：「谁告诉你赤身露体呢？莫非你吃了我吩咐你不可吃的那树上的果子吗？」那人说：「你所赐给我、与我同居的女人，她把那树上的果子给我，我就吃了。」耶和华神对女人说：「你做的是甚么事呢？」女人说：「那蛇引诱我，我就吃了。」（创世记3:11-13）

与神相处/不要躲避祂的面

2025-03-11 in , /by

马太福音11:28  凡劳苦担重担的人可以到我这里来，我就使你们得安息。

创世记记载始祖亚当后续第十代子孙挪亚，他父亲拉麦给他起名叫挪亚（字意是休息），说：「这个儿子必为我们的操作和手中的劳苦安慰我们；这操作劳苦是因为耶和华咒诅地。」（创世记5:28-29）

始祖亚当犯罪被逐出伊甸园，自此人们就陷在「终身劳苦才得吃的，汗流满面才得糊口」（创世记3:17-19）的窘境中，休息（挪亚）是那个世代的渴望，「脱离劳苦，得到休息」不也是绵延世代我们每一个人的渴望吗？我们期盼「休息」可以为我们的操作和手中的劳苦「安慰」我们。是吗？

大卫形容耶和华是牧者，他是羊，说：「我虽然行过死荫的幽谷，也不怕遭害，因为祢与我同在；祢的杖，祢的竿，都安慰我。」（诗篇23:4）牧羊人的杖是挂在腰间的短棍，用来赶走豺狼，保护羊群；竿是长的柺杖，用来引导羊群，前端有个钩子，可以勾回走岔、走迷的羊。

大卫形容当他行过死荫的幽谷时，神与他同在，在杖的「保护」、竿的「引导」下，他得「安慰」。「安慰」原文有叹息、遗憾、怜悯、安慰、后悔的意思，大卫描述当他降伏于神的保护和引领下，他得着安慰。

How to Experience God’s Supernatural Provision

2025-03-11 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 17:1-16.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

1 Kings 17:1-6 (NIV)
1  Now Elijah the Tishbite, from Tishbe in Gilead, said to Ahab, “As the LORD, the God of Israel, lives, whom I serve, there will be neither dew nor rain in the next few years except at my word.”
2  Then the word of the LORD came to Elijah:

On verses 1-6:  God is the star of 1 Kings, and here we meet God’s best supporting actor.  He is the prophet Elijah.  Elijah boldly proclaims to Ahab that there would be no dew or rain in the next few years except when Elijah proclaims there to be (of course not by his own power but by God’s).  Knowing that Ahab wanted to coerce, manipulate and harm Elijah, God tells Elijah where to hide, tells him where he can find water to drink and provides ravens who send him food.

It Matters Whom You Marry

2025-03-10 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 16:29-34.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

1 Kings 16:29-33 (NIV)
29  In the thirty-eighth year of Asa king of Judah, Ahab son of Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned in Samaria over Israel twenty-two years.
30  Ahab son of Omri did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him.
31  He not only considered it trivial to commit the sins of Jeroboam son of Nebat, but he also married Jezebel daughter of Ethbaal king of the Sidonians, and began to serve Baal and worship him.

On verses 29-33:  These verses summarize the 22 year reign of Ahab as king of Israel, although we will read about Ahab again in later chapters of 1 Kings.  One can make the argument that Ahab was the most wicked king in Israel’s history.  According to the writer of 1 Kings, Ahab “did more evil in the eyes of the LORD than any of those before him” (v30) and “did more to provoke the Lord to anger than did all the kings of Israel before him” (v32).  He went even further than his precedent-breaking father Omri.

得安慰、享安息

2025-03-10 in , /by

马太福音11:28  凡劳苦担重担的人可以到我这里来，我就使你们得安息。

创世记记载始祖亚当后续第十代子孙挪亚，他父亲拉麦给他起名叫挪亚（字意是休息），说：「这个儿子必为我们的操作和手中的劳苦安慰我们；这操作劳苦是因为耶和华咒诅地。」（创世记5:28-29）

始祖亚当犯罪被逐出伊甸园，自此人们就陷在「终身劳苦才得吃的，汗流满面才得糊口」（创世记3:17-19）的窘境中，休息（挪亚）是那个世代的渴望，「脱离劳苦，得到休息」不也是绵延世代我们每一个人的渴望吗？我们期盼「休息」可以为我们的操作和手中的劳苦「安慰」我们。是吗？

大卫形容耶和华是牧者，他是羊，说：「我虽然行过死荫的幽谷，也不怕遭害，因为祢与我同在；祢的杖，祢的竿，都安慰我。」（诗篇23:4）牧羊人的杖是挂在腰间的短棍，用来赶走豺狼，保护羊群；竿是长的柺杖，用来引导羊群，前端有个钩子，可以勾回走岔、走迷的羊。

大卫形容当他行过死荫的幽谷时，神与他同在，在杖的「保护」、竿的「引导」下，他得「安慰」。「安慰」原文有叹息、遗憾、怜悯、安慰、后悔的意思，大卫描述当他降伏于神的保护和引领下，他得着安慰。

How God Measures Success

2025-03-09 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Kings 16:21-28.  As usual, I encourage you to open your Bible and read the passage yourself first.  See what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help. Then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

1 Kings 16:21-28 (NIV)
21  Then the people of Israel were split into two factions; half supported Tibni son of Ginath for king, and the other half supported Omri.
22  But Omri’s followers proved stronger than those of Tibni son of Ginath. So Tibni died and Omri became king.
23  In the thirty-first year of Asa king of Judah, Omri became king of Israel, and he reigned twelve years, six of them in Tirzah.
24  He bought the hill of Samaria from Shemer for two talents of silver and built a city on the hill, calling it Samaria, after Shemer, the name of the former owner of the hill.

On verses 21-28:  These verses summarize the 12 year reign of Omri.  From a political and military standpoint, Omri was an impressive king.  Omri outlasted his opponent Tibni in a civil war (v21-22).  Omri built a new capital city for Israel called Samaria.  Ancient Assyrian records even refer to Israel as “the land of Omri” [1].

仰望天空

2025-03-09 in , /by

诗篇 19   

1 诸天述说神的荣耀，穹苍传扬他的手段。
2 这日到那日发出言语，这夜到那夜传出知识。
3 无言无语，也无声音可听。
4 他的量带通遍天下，他的言语传到地极。神在其间为太阳安设帐幕，
5 太阳如同新郎出洞房，又如勇士欢然奔路。

英国的首席研究员艾力克斯．史曼利(Alex Smalley)希望每个人都能早点起床，或在太阳下山时放慢脚步。为什么呢？这是为了欣赏日出和日落。

史曼利研究自然界对心理健康的影响，他发现这些稍纵即逝的景色，是一天中最美丽、最令人赞叹的时刻。与万里晴空或璀璨夜空相比，令人赞叹的日出或日落更能让人心情变好，增加正向情绪和减少压力。

史曼利说：「当你看到广阔无垠的景象，或令你心生敬畏感的情景，你会觉得自己的困难变得微不足道，也不再那么担忧了。」