JY Bible Notes 聖經小筆記

  電影「 Spanlish 」 : 一個墨西哥裔的單親媽媽，帶著尚年幼的女兒來到美國工作，隨後成為一位有名的白人主廚家的幫傭，幫忙做家事及照顧孩子。在與主人一家相處的過程中，墨西哥裔的女兒竟然被女主人疼愛到為她申請了與自己孩子一樣的私立小學，生活上也似乎和主人的子女平起平坐，這令墨西哥母親心理非常難受，感到女兒似乎正被塑造成富有人家的下一代，與她漸行漸遠。後來更因為主人夫妻婚姻產生問題，美麗的幫傭更與男主人產生了相知相惜的感情，這樣的情愫升高且被發現後，幫傭毅然地帶著女兒離開富有家庭，另尋出路。 其實這是個殘酷和無情的現實故事，女兒被拉離富豪家泳池之際，幫傭母親為了制止她當場哭叫，在她耳邊說道：「不要哭，請讓我們有尊嚴的離開。」女兒當場立刻控制住自己的情緒。但當母女走到車站的路途中，女兒還是任忍不住哭罵母親：「妳毀了我的生活！」母親沈默不語，直到走到車站，母親含著淚問女兒：「妳真得這麼想成為和我完全不同的人嗎？」女兒低頭想了想，明白到她和母親的關係才是最珍貴、最值得守護的。兩人在公車上相擁相依的畫面，令我溫暖到難以忘懷。 身為基督徒，這世界非我們的家，但是我們常常會羨慕著世界的人所擁有的物質生活或特權：高檔的房產、華美的衣服、優等的食材、別人對他們的尊敬、連司法在有權勢的人面前也淪為工具罷了。 但是神給我們的難道比這些差嗎？當我們的父神在一旁緊緊地保護、眷顧我們的時候，我們是否珍惜、體會？在這個世界上，沒有什麼比父神之愛更加偉大，這些是用金錢、權利買不到的，祂的愛能夠穿越死亡，並帶給我們永恆的美好天家的盼望，在那裡耶穌早為我們預備了住處，那是不死的靈魂們永恆的完美的歸宿。 天家勝過世界 約   翰   一   書   2:14-15 15  不   要   愛   世   界   和   世   界   上   的   事   。   人   若   愛   世   界   ，   愛   父   的   心   就   不   在   他   裡 ...

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...

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 ...

Tyler King When we start comparing ourselves with the world, we find depression and dissatisfaction. This is simply due to the fact that we are foreigners in this land.  However, when we relocate our minds with fellow believers, to divine scripture, and to thoughtful worship, we can find our own “Psalm 73:17.”  The holiness of Christ is so much more satisfying and purifying than the worldly prosperity of the wicked. Being connected to His church can help us find like-minded people who are setting their treasures in heaven rather than in this world.   

Jimmy Lau Life is joyous when we curb our passions. Paul is right: “ But godliness with contentment is great gain ” (1 Timothy 6:6). Contentment is finding joy in what God has given to us. The tendency for men is to want more. Contentment is an attitude learned from life. Paul says “ I have learned in whatever situation I am to be content ” (Philippians 4:12, ESV). Discontentment brings anxieties and unhappiness; contentment results in happiness. Choose contentment.   Psalm 131 is a very short psalm but it contains the secret to happiness: 1) Practise humility. 2) Learn contentment. 3) Live in hope.

Jimmy Lau Life is a continuous struggle. Do you think that after you have retired from your work, you will not have any more struggles? Far from it. A new phase in life has its own struggles – old age diseases will start to appear, loneliness may come in especially if you have lost your life partner, and money may be an issue if you did not save enough for retirement. Life is a continuing battle, and it only ends when we cross over to the other side. Only true FAITH will win.   The Psalmist was an old man recalling the things since his youth. He had been there, done it. God was his victory (Psa. 129 v.4). He wants us to feel and live the FAITH we preach about. We need to trust that God will get us through the hard times: “ The LORD is righteous; he has cut the cords of the wicked ” (Psa. 129 v.4).

June 14, 2020   by  Jack Wilkie    https://www.focuspress.org/2020/06/14/self-hatred-vs-the-gospel/   The following is a feature from the June 2020 issue of  Think  magazine, an issue focused on worldly self-love vs. Biblical self-care. To subscribe,  click here . I apologize as this may be a weird, uncomfortable, challenging article, but I write it because I was led to a weird, uncomfortable, challenging conclusion recently: I hate myself. I’ve long been familiar with the term self-loathing or self-hatred, and naturally, it has always sounded like a terrible condition. I’ve always felt bad for those who struggle with it. But I assumed it entailed walking around all day telling yourself how terrible you are, not being able to look at yourself in the mirror, and the like. The symptoms aren’t always quite that extreme, though. They can seem normal, and it’s easy to convince one’s self that everybody probably goes through the same things. A f...

Jimmy Lau Why is the resurrection of Christ so important to our faith? Let the Bible answers: It proves Jesus to be who He claimed to be, namely the divine Son of God: “ And declared to be the Son of God  with power, according to the spirit of holiness,  by the resurrection from the dead ” (Romans 1:4). Our Justification rests on the resurrection of Jesus: “ Who was delivered for our offences, and was  raised again for our justification ” (Romans 4:25). Christianity is dead without a risen Saviour: “ And if Christ be not risen, then is  our preaching vain , and  your faith is also vain ” (1 Corinthians 15:14). Our sins are not forgiven if Jesus had not risen from the dead: “ And if Christ be not raised, your faith is vain;  ye are yet in your sins ” (1 Corinthians 15:17). We are believing in a hopeless faith if our Lord did not rise from the dead: “ If in this life only we have hope in Christ , we are of all men most miserable ” (1 Corinthians 15:19). Our...

from Kwan Thai Choon "祷告是打开神无限恩典和能力之仓的钥匙。" 一些祷告金言 1 祷告就是亲近神，无论你以何种形式。 2 神并不是任由基督徒，选择要不要祷告，祂乃是命令我们去祷告。 3 愿以祷告作为早晨的开门之钥，夜晚的关门之闩。 4 如果有一天我忽略了祷告，我将失去信心之火。 5 祷告是一个试验，试验你在神面前的属灵情形如何。 6 祷告乃是给自己机会，好领取神为我们预备的礼物。 7 要学习祷告，我们就得祷告。要达到祷告最精湛的深处，必须从祷告中学习，而不是单从书本中学习。 8 祷告使我们与那转动宇宙的无尽大能连结起来；使脆弱如芦苇的人类，有了永不动摇的力量。         9 祷告是灵魂的盾牌，是对神的奉献，是给撒但的鞭笞。 10 祷告是神从患难的盘石中，汲取福祉之泉的途径。 11 暗中、诚恳、信靠的祷告，是一切敬虔的根源。 12 祷告是把你不能解决的问题，交给能解决一切问题的神。 13 祷告最简短的定义，就是向天许愿。 14 祷告是信心的吶喊。 15 祷告就是安息在神的爱中，全神贯注聆听祂在你里面安静微小的声音。 16 祷告不是要改变神，而是要改变自己。好让神为我们成就祂原本就要成就的。 17 神仍然向那些肯花时间聆听的人说话。 18 祷告加忍耐加信心，就绝不失望。 19 话愈少的祷告愈好。 20 最难的祷告就是告诉神：“愿您的旨意成就！” 21 在一千件试炼中，并非五百件叫爱神的人得益处，乃是九百九十九件，加上一件，能叫爱神的人得益处。 22 神留下一些事情，是要靠祷告来完成。如果我们不祷告，这些事是永远不能完成。 23 在祷告时，你将自己与神的旨意和能力结合，祂就能借着你来完成奇妙的大事。 24 祷告把我们推入神温暖的怀抱中。 25 祷告不是把人的旨意行在天上而是把神的旨意行在地上。 26 一个问题与答案之间最短的距离，端看我们膝盖与地板之间的距离。 27 祷告和怨恨不能共存。 28 暗中诚恳、信赖的祷告，是一切祷告的根源。 29 祷告就是大胆地来到神的施恩座前，向祂倾心吐意。 30 神并不是任由基督徒，选择要不要祷告，祂乃是命令我们去祷告。 31 祈祷乃是使用基督的胜利，在人间履行天上的决定。 32 得胜的祷告，...

From Kwan Thai Choon " 神离弃我吗？" 读经: 诗篇22篇1-21节 我的神！我的神！为什么离弃我？-马太福音27章46节      在鲁益师的《地狱来鸿》一书中，描绘大魔鬼写给小魔鬼的书信内容，讨论该如何有效地引诱一位基督徒。这两个魔鬼想要摧毁基督徒对神的信心。大魔鬼写给小魔鬼说：「你要小心哦！当一个人环顾宇宙，似乎看不到神以及祂的作为，心里充满被抛弃的疑问，然而他却还能顺服神，这时，我们神圣的把戏就面临破功的危险了。」      从圣经里我们看到，许多人虽然感到被抛弃，却仍然持守信心行事。亚伯兰以为神已经忘记曾应许要赐他后嗣（创世记15章2-3节） 。诗人在患难中觉得被神忽视（诗篇10篇1节）。约伯极度痛苦以致以为神要杀了他（约伯记13章15节） 。甚至耶稣都在十字架上大喊：「我的神！我的神！为什么离弃我？」（马太福音27章46节） 然而，神一次又一次地显明祂是信实的（创世记21章1-7节；诗篇10篇16-18节 ；约伯记38章1节-42章17节 ；马太福音28章9-20节 ）。      虽然撒但可能企图欺骗你，使你以为自己被离弃了，但神却是永远在你身边。祂永不离弃自己的儿女。「因为主曾说：『我总不撇下你，也不丢弃你。』所以我们可以放胆说：『主是帮助我的，我必不惧怕。』」（希伯来书13章5-6节） 主啊，虽然黑暗和乌云有时笼罩我， 即使心中彷徨，但主就在身旁。

By Jimmy Lau Rev 21:1   And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.  “Sea” symbolises turmoil. The “ first heaven and first earth ” is the earth that we now lived. Peter in his epistle says this earth shall pass away (2 Peter 3:10). And he says we have a better home waiting for us: “ Nevertheless we, according to his promise, look for new heavens and a new earth, wherein dwelleth righteousness ” (2 Peter 3:13). Our hope is in heaven. Revelation 21 paints a beautiful picture of what heaven is like. It is the climax of the journey of faith: Heaven is surely worth it all. Here for the first time, after the close of the seven epistles of chapters 2 and 3, do we have the promise to him who overcomes: “ He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son ” (v.7).