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Thank God for the Samuels in Your Life

2024-10-23 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 15:1-16.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

1 Samuel 15:1 (NIV) 
1 Samuel said to Saul, “I am the one the LORD sent to anoint you king over his people Israel; so listen now to the message from the LORD. 

On verse 1:   Samuel comes to Saul with a message.  But before sharing that message, Samuel reminds Saul of that day when the LORD sent Samuel to anoint Saul as king.  Samuel is reminding Saul that it was the LORD who made it possible for Saul to be king.  There is no exaltation, no promotion, no lifting up of any person if God did not allow it.  As Psalm 75 says, “He brings one down; he exalts another”.  In other words, God is sovereign and we could not reach any height in life without Him.

来到主面前

2024-10-22 in , /by

彼得前书 2:4-5

主乃活石，固然是被人所弃的，却是被神所拣选、所宝贵的。 5 你们来到主面前，也就像活石，被建造成为灵宫，做圣洁的祭司，借着耶稣基督奉献神所悦纳的灵祭。

早晨的时候，一句话语「来到祢面前」进入脑海中，彼得的勉励（彼前2:4-5）提醒我，主是活石，当我来到主面前，我就像活石，是被神所拣选、所宝贵的。

我是石头，因着耶稣，我被赋予生命，活着，且充满活力。

我是石头，因着耶稣，我被建造成为属灵的房子，有圣灵居住在里面。

我是石头，因着耶稣，我可以献上自己当活祭，蒙神悦纳。

主乃活石，固然是被人所弃的，却是被神所拣选、所宝贵的。你们来到主面前，也就像活石，被建造成为灵宫，作圣洁的祭司，借着耶稣基督奉献神所悦纳的灵祭。（彼前2:4-5）

Victorious Wherever You Turn

2024-10-22 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 14:47-52.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go!

1 Samuel 14:47-48 (NIV) 
47 After Saul had assumed rule over Israel, he fought against their enemies on every side: Moab, the Ammonites, Edom, the kings of Zobah, and the Philistines. Wherever he turned, he inflicted punishment on them. 
48 He fought valiantly and defeated the Amalekites, delivering Israel from the hands of those who had plundered them. 

On verses 47-48:  Saul indeed faced challenges on every side: to the east he battled the Moabites, the Ammonites, and the Edomites; to the north he contended with the kings of Zobah; to the west he fought the Philistines; and to the south, the Amalekites.  Yet verse 47 says that “wherever he went, he was victorious” and God granted Saul success.  I pray the same for you.  You may feel like you are facing challenges on every side right now.  But like Saul in verse 47, I pray that with God’s help and for God’s glory you will be victorious and successful wherever you turn. 

以认识神为夸口

2024-10-21 in , /by

罗马书 12:3  我凭著所赐我的恩对你们各人说：不要看自己过于所当看的，要照着神所分给各人信心的大小，看得合乎中道。

耶利米书 9:23-24  耶和华如此说：「智慧人不要因他的智慧夸口，勇士不要因他的勇力夸口，财主不要因他的财物夸口。 24 夸口的却因他有聪明，认识我是耶和华，又知道我喜悦在世上施行慈爱、公平和公义，以此夸口。」这是耶和华说的。

有个寓言故事说：有一只骄傲的青蛙喜欢自夸，在自家荷叶上跳的高、跳的远。为了显示自己的本领，牠向小白兔挑战赛跑。赛跑开始了，很快的小白兔即将超过牠；青蛙不承认失败，半途又提议比赛爬树；小白兔不会爬，认输放弃比赛，青蛙就嘲笑小白兔，且夸耀自己能跳又能爬。

这下激怒了一旁的小松鼠，小松鼠主动要和青蛙比赛爬树。青蛙爬不过小松鼠，不服气，说小松鼠没什么了不起，不能上天。小松鼠反问它：「你能上天吗？」觉得青蛙的吹嘘十分可笑。

一天，青蛙看见一群大雁飞过，忽然计从心来，央求大雁带牠上天。青蛙找来一根绳子，请大雁咬住前端，自己咬住尾端，大雁拍拍翅膀，青蛙咬著绳子果真上天了，地面上的小动物们见了都惊奇地叫唤起来。

When Spirituality Goes Overboard

2024-10-21 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 14:24-46.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 14:24-32 (NIV)
24  Now the men of Israel were in distress that day, because Saul had bound the people under an oath, saying, “Cursed be any man who eats food before evening comes, before I have avenged myself on my enemies!” So none of the troops tasted food.
25  The entire army entered the woods, and there was honey on the ground.

On verses 24-32:  Saul makes his army vow that while they are pursuing the Philistines, they will not eat anything until evening.  Now there are times in the Bible when God calls people to fast, or when individuals like Jesus, Daniel, or Moses fasted.  In those times, it was for the purpose of drawing near to God and getting centered and focused around God’s purposes.  In Saul’s case, however, this fasting campaign was centered around Saul’s own ego, as suggested by him when he says no one is to eat anything “before I have avenged myself on my enemies” (v24).

The Power of Unity

2024-10-20 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 14:1-23.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 
 
1 Samuel 14:1-23 (NIV)
1  One day Jonathan son of Saul said to the young man bearing his armor, “Come, let’s go over to the Philistine outpost on the other side.” But he did not tell his father.
2  Saul was staying on the outskirts of Gibeah under a pomegranate tree in Migron. With him were about six hundred men,
3  among whom was Ahijah, who was wearing an ephod. He was a son of Ichabod’s brother Ahitub son of Phinehas, the son of Eli, the LORD’s priest in Shiloh. No one was aware that Jonathan had left.

On verses 1-23:  Here we see how powerful it is when even two of God’s people are united in purpose.

Jonathan decides to attack one of the Philistine outposts, and he tells his young armor-bearer to come along.  I love the armor-bearer’s response: “Do all that you have in mind.  Go ahead; I am with you heart and soul.” (v7)  And indeed when Jonathan went up toward the Philistine outpost, his armor-bearer was “right behind him” (v13).  While Jonathan went ahead and attacked the Philistines, his armor-bearer “followed and killed behind him” (v13).  Together, against the odds, Jonathan and his armor-bearer killed 20 Philistines.

长青发旺

2024-10-20 in , /by

诗篇 71

17 神啊，自我年幼时祢就教训我，直到如今我传扬祢奇妙的作为。
18 神啊，我到年老发白的时候，求你不要离弃我，等我将祢的能力指示下代，将祢的大能指示后世的人。
19 神啊，祢的公义甚高；行过大事的神啊，谁能像祢？

「当你老了，头发白了，睡意昏沉⋯。」这是赵照很出名的一首歌。「老了」常与失去、失能、忧郁、失智…等联想在一起。但是，我们不要忘记圣经中的教导，年老长寿得来不易，是神特别的赐福，需爱惜神所赐给的礼物，要感谢，不埋怨；要快乐，不忧愁。

〈诗篇〉第71篇的作者谈到他一生的渴望：「神啊，我到年老发白的时候，求祢不要离弃我！等我将祢的能力指示下代，将祢的大能指示后世的人（诗71:18）。」

圣经教导我们明白神呼召老人，亚伯拉罕75岁（创12:4）、摩西80岁（出7:7）被神呼召，且赋予重任；神使用老人。迦勒85岁带领以色列百姓征服迦南地（书14:10），但以理为神工作70年，80岁仍是宰相，且每日三次向神祷告得着智慧。

Why God Sometimes Makes Us Wait A Little Longer Than We’d Like

2024-10-18 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 13:1-23.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

1 Samuel 13:1-15 (NIV)
1  Saul was [thirty] years old when he became king, and he reigned over Israel [forty-] two years.
2  Saul chose three thousand men from Israel; two thousand were with him at Micmash and in the hill country of Bethel, and a thousand were with Jonathan at Gibeah in Benjamin. The rest of the men he sent back to their homes.

On verses 1-15:  In these 15 verses, we see how one bad decision altered Saul’s destiny.  The sequence of events is fairly straightforward:

1. Saul’s first born son Jonathan leads a successful attack against the Philistines (v3-4).

2. In response, the Philistines come roaring back with a massive force, assembling at Micmash, ready to fight Israel (v5).

愈忙愈要找时间

2024-10-18 in , /by

马太福音11:28-30 28

「凡劳苦担重担的人，可以到我这里来，我就使你们得安息。 29 我心里柔和谦卑，你们当负我的轭，学我的样式，这样，你们心里就必得享安息。 30 因为我的轭是容易的，我的担子是轻省的。」

网路上有个图片描绘星期一到星期日英文字的翻译：星期一（忙day）忙得要死，星期二（求死day）忙得想死，星期三（未死day）还没有忙死，星期四（受死day）行将受死；但是，转机来了，星期五（福来day）挨完后就可以放假；接下来，一星期最安逸潇洒的一天，就是星期六（洒脱day）；过完星期六，再面对星期日（伤day），又将继续下一个「忙」的星期。

有篇文章这样描述：「忙」这个字拆开就是「心亡」，如果我们对某些事、某些人的心已经死了，就会用「忙」来当作借口。有人会因为忙，而疏离朋友；因为忙，而冷淡亲人；因为忙，而忘了自己的健康。这代表我们对朋友、亲人、以及自己的心已经死了，我们用「忙」来拒绝一切。

有封E-mail的标题是「撒旦的会议记录」，其中谈到撒旦向全世界的邪灵召开会议，讨论如何让基督徒中断参与教会、中断读圣经明白真理、中断与耶稣的亲密关系；或是让他们留在教会，但偷去他们的时间，使他们仿佛活在基督里，却无真实的连结。

Don’t Run from God. Run to Him

2024-10-17 in /by

Hi GAMErs,

Today’s passage is 1 Samuel 12:12-25.  As usual, I encourage you to read the passage yourself first and see what you can glean with the Holy Spirit’s help, then read the GAME sharing below.  Let’s go! 

1 Samuel 12:12 (NIV) 
12 “But when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites was moving against you, you said to me, ‘No, we want a king to rule over us’–even though the LORD your God was your king. 

On verse 12:  Here we learn the most immediate reason why the Israelites wanted a human king so much: they felt threatened by the Ammonites and thus cried out for a king to save them.  They repeated the same mistake that their ancestors before them had made: trusting in human effort more than in God, forgetting that God was with them and looking only to people for help.