JY Bible Notes 聖經小筆記

From: TFTW Bible College We can see the purpose of life explained by King Solomon.  Solomon had been given wisdom and great wealth by God.  He pursued happiness through different means, such as wine, women and song. But, he realized that the purpose of man was not to pursue earthly pleasures of life. That was vanity. Instead, he stated the meaning of life by saying, “ Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. For God shall bring every work into judgment, with every secret thing, whether it be good, or whether it be evil. ” ( Ecclesiastes 12:13-14 )  The whole purpose of man is to fear God and keep His commandments. Why? Because that is for our own good. That is what keeps us in a close relationship with our Creator. Sinning, or rebelling against God’s commandments, must separate us from our holy God who is perfect. “ Behold, the LORD’S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his...

From: TFTW Bible College Man is a treasured part of the Creation. " What is man, that thou art mindful of him? and the son of man, that thou visitest him? " ( Psalm 8:4 ) So valued that God is mindful of us and our plight. " Philip saith unto him, Lord, shew us the Father, and it sufficeth us. Jesus saith unto him, Have I been so long time with you, and yet hast thou not known me, Philip? he that hath seen me hath seen the Father; and how sayest thou then, Shew us the Father? "  ( John 14:8-9 ) So loved that God visited the man in the flesh to explain to him who God is and what God wants. " For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life. "  ( John 3:16 ) So loved that God gave Himself on the cross to give the man a chance at salvation.

From: TFTW Bible College Fear God Give Him the reverence, respect, and awe that He deserves. Keep His commandments " Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man. "  ( Ecclesiastes 12:13 ) For God’s glory and pleasure " Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved.  In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; " ( Ephesians 1:3-7 ) " In whom also we have obtained an inheritance, being predestin...

Jimmy Lau Psa 147:3   He healeth the broken in heart, and bindeth up their wounds.  Who Are The Broken-Hearted? 1. Those whose hearts are broken by circumstances . Israel in exile was broken-hearted. Their spirit was crushed and broken by their long captivity: “ By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down, yea, we wept, when we remembered Zion ” (Psalm 137:1).   Your heart may be broken by the current pandemic affecting the whole world. Perhaps you have lost your job. Perhaps you have lost a loved one to the pandemic. Remember our God heals the broken-hearted and binds up the wounds. Psalm 119:50 says: “ This is my comfort in my affliction: for thy word hath quickened me. ”   The word “quickened” is an old English word which means to give life. In his most depressing moments, the Psalmist’s spirit was revived, comforted by the Word of God.   Today, when we are suffering afflictions, we can find the same comfort from the Word of God. Paul wrote: “ For ...

From TFTW Bible College There is only one divine nature, but there are three persons who possess it. These three are referred to as “The Trinity.” Since they all possess the attributes of God and they all possess divine nature, we may use the word “God” when referring to the individual persons. You may hear them referred to as: God the Father God the Son God the Holy Spirit Some people believe stating there is a Trinity is incorrect because they believe the idea of a Trinity is stating there are three gods. However, the confusion comes in if we forget what the word “God” really means. The word “God” refers to the divine nature, not to the persons who possess it. The word “God” does not indicate any number, it merely indicates the attributes of the divine. There is only one divine nature because someone either possesses the attributes of God or they do not. Therefore, there is only one God. There happen to be three persons who possess that nature.  We can also see the Trinity in act...

From TFTW Bible College Since God does not change, His attributes are consistent. God does not stop being just in order to be loving. He does not stop being loving in order to be just. At all times God will be faithful, just, holy, loving, etc. How can a loving God allow people to go to Hell? Because He was loving enough to give us free will. We chose to rebel against His commandments and be separated from His holiness. But, He also loved us enough to offer His Son as a perfect sacrifice to save man. Some will use their free will to accept the sacrifice on their behalf and some will not. Therefore, God will be faithful to His promise of punishment to those who disobey Him, and just to punish those who disobey Him, while blessing those who do obey Him. God is loving, faithful, and just, all at the same time! We cannot focus on one attribute of God, such as His love, and use that one attribute to dismiss all the other attributes of God. Yes, God is love. But, God is also faithful, holy, ...

Jimmy Lau Psa 142:5   I cried unto thee, O LORD: I said, Thou art my refuge and my portion in the land of the living.  In this world, many find their refuge and portion in material possessions. The world is in a pandemic and a recession. If you have money saved up in the banks or if your job is secured, you have a good refuge and portion. But all the earthly refuge and portions cannot redeem our souls from a greater disaster – DEATH! Psalm 49:6 and 7 says: “ They that trust in their wealth, and boast themselves in the multitude of their riches ; None of them can by any means redeem his brother, nor give to God a ransom for him . ”  Riches cannot buy us a place in heaven.   Jeremiah wrote: “ The LORD is my portion, saith my soul; therefore will I hope in him ” (Lamentations 3:24). Someone cleverly stated it this way: " Serve the Lord, the benefits package is out of this world !"   Christ is the world’s only answer for their sins. God made Christ the ref...

From TFTW Bible College Since God is holy, He never does anything wrong. That includes telling lies. “ In hope of eternal life, which God, that cannot lie, promised before the world began; ” ( Titus 1:2 )  When God says something, it is true. When God promises something, He will be faithful to keep that promise. That is true whether He promises blessings to those that obey Him, or punishment to those who do not obey Him.  God’s faithfulness is supreme. He must be faithful to His word, or He is no longer holy. Since He is infinite and eternal, He will never stop being faithful to His word. “ Know therefore that the LORD thy God, he is God, the faithful God, which keepeth covenant and mercy with them that love him and keep his commandments to a thousand generations; ” ( Deuteronomy 7:9 )

From TFTW Bible College Some try to dismiss the idea of God because there is so much evil in the world. Their argument is that if there is a God, then He would stop or prevent all the evil and suffering in the world. But how do you determine something is evil without God to declare it as evil? If there is no God, then the universe is an accident and what you call “evil” is really just “evil” because you don’t like it. The murderer may murder and think it is a good thing to do, but you may look at murder and call it “evil.”  With no God to be holy and just judge, then who’s to say who is right? If the universe is an accident, then there is no purpose to what we do when we are dead nothing will have mattered anyway, and I will never answer to anyone after my life is over. So, with no God, whether or not I murder doesn’t matter and cannot be declared “good” or “evil.” The truth is, you cannot declare something as “good” or “evil” unless it is backed up by God also declaring it good or...

From TFTW Bible Coellge God is perfect in His ability to deliver blessings to those who obey Him and punishment to those who disobey.  Human judges are not perfect and sometimes people suffer unfairly because of them.  It is not so with God.  He is all-knowing and will always deal fairly with men.  “ He is the Rock, his work is perfect: for all his ways are judgment: a God of truth and without iniquity, just and right is he. ” ( Deuteronomy 32:4 )  “ That be far from thee to do after this manner, to slay the righteous with the wicked: and that the righteous should be as the wicked, that be far from thee: Shall not the Judge of all the earth do right? ” ( Genesis 18:25 ) “ The soul that sinneth, it shall die. The son shall not bear the iniquity of the father, neither shall the father bear the iniquity of the son: the righteousness of the righteous shall be upon him, and the wickedness of the wicked shall be upon him. ” ( Ezekiel 18:20 ) Since God is just and...

From TFTW Bible College How would you like to serve a god who does not know answers to questions like, “What is the meaning of life?” or “Why were we created?” The God that we worship, the one true and living God, knows all things. “ Great is our Lord, and of great power: his understanding is infinite. ” ( Psalm 147:5 )  God even knows the ending of something before it begins. He knew that man would sin and need a Savior even before He created him. He is not limited by time or space. When He tells us what to do, it is for our own good, because God can see the end results of our actions, even if we can’t. “ Remember the former things of old: for I am God, and there is none else; I am God, and there is none like me, Declaring the end from the beginning, and from ancient times the things that are not yet done, saying, My counsel shall stand, and I will do all my pleasure: ” ( Isaiah 46:9-10 )

From TFTW Bible College There are people on this earth who worship gods that are confined to a certain location. There are places in Asia where they worship the god on the hill, then drive to another location to worship the god of the water.  But the God of the Bible is in all places, at all times. “ Whither shall I go from thy Spirit? Or whither shall I flee from thy presence?  If I ascend up into heaven, thou art there: If I make my bed in Sheol, behold, thou art there.  If I take the wings of the morning, And dwell in the uttermost parts of the sea; Even there shall thy hand lead me, And thy right hand shall hold me. ”  ( Psalm 139:7-10 ASV )  Whether in the sky, on the earth, under the water, or even in Sheol (the dwelling place of the dead), God is present.  “ Can any hide himself in secret places that I shall not see him? saith the LORD. Do not I fill heaven and earth? saith the LORD. ”  ( Jeremiah 23:24 ) 

From TFTW Bible College Our God, the God of the Bible, is all-powerful. “ But Jesus beheld them, and said unto them, With men this is impossible; but with God all things are possible. ” ( Matthew 19:26 ) Anything that God chooses to do, He may do. There is nothing that can stop Him, outside of contradicting His own nature. There simply is nothing too difficult for God to do. “ Behold, I am the LORD, the God of all flesh: is there any thing too hard for me? ” ( Jeremiah 32:27 ) You might hear people talk about how ‘difficult’ miracles must be, but the fact is, they are not difficult to God. They are as simple as drawing a breath, or as speaking. For it was only by the word of His mouth that God created all things out of nothing. “ And God said, Let there be light: and there was light. ” ( Genesis 1:3 ) 

Jimmy Lau Only God can examine the thoughts of men: “ Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising, thou understandest my thought afar off ” (Psa 139 v.2).   Thou knowest my downsitting and mine uprising  – It means all our actions and all our movements. Men may see our actions but they cannot see the motives behind those actions. But God can! He knows us inside out!   Thou understandest my thought afar off  – Men examine the actions but God examines the thoughts. It is all right if our actions are misunderstood by men (as they are prone to do) because it is better to be vindicated by God than by men.   Thoughts make the men: “ But those things which proceed out of the mouth come forth from the heart; and they defile the man. For out of the heart proceed evil thoughts, murders, adulteries, fornications, thefts, false witness, blasphemies ” (Matthew 15:18, 19).   So, you see, no one knows us better than God. My wife may know much more about me than the...

Jimmy Lau  Psa 138:8   The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me: thy mercy, O LORD, endureth for ever: forsake not the works of thine own hands.  The LORD will perfect that which concerneth me – “Perfect” as used here means to bring it to completion. God will complete what He has begun.  What are the things that concern David that God will bring them to fruition? First and foremost is the kingdom. God promised David the kingship; David is confident He will bring it to pass. Never mind the current setbacks he is facing; David believes God will remove all those obstacles one by one until he is crowned king.  Life is not about not having obstacles but clearing obstacles. God allows us to go through trials to help us learn and grow: “Though I walk in the midst of trouble, thou wilt revive me: thou shalt stretch forth thine hand against the wrath of mine enemies, and thy right hand shall save me” (v.7). We will never arrive at a point ...

Jimmy Lau Today, we are living in “ strange lands ”. The world is in a pandemic. And the pandemic has changed the world. It has changed the world in the way it used to conduct its businesses, social activities, and religions. Currently, we are prevented from congregating and singing together. Should we be in the mood for singing praises to God?   The answer is an astounding YES! God loves to hear us sing. Solomon says: “ For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven ” (Ecclesiastes 3:1).   This year may well be the season for the COVID-19 pandemic. We don’t know why it comes nor when it will go away. Yet, though we are sad, we still have so much to be thankful for. In fact, the most important thing we should do in the middle of any crisis is to praise God. Paul and Silas sang praises to God while in a prison in Philippi (Acts 16:25).   Praises to God shouldn’t stop because of a pandemic. On the contrary, we need God more than ever: “ The LORD ...

Jimmy Lau Our Lord says He is bored with these kinds of worshippers: 1. The Hypocrites  – Christ says their  hearts are far   from Him . What does it mean? It means: (i)  They are present in the body but not in spirit. Their hearts are not in worship. We see this kind of worshippers every Sunday. They are not attentive. They will be fiddling with their phones or doing something else. Some will even talk and disturb other worshippers: Habakkuk says: “ But the LORD is in his holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before him ” (Habakkuk 2:20).   (ii) They are not living the Christian lifestyle. In worship they appear holy - they sing, pray, give, study, partake the Lord’s Supper, and listen attentively as anyone. But when they leave the church building, it is a different matter. Our Lord has this to say to them: “ Woe unto you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! for ye are like unto whited sepulchres, which indeed appear beautiful outward, but are within ...