小時候讀過很多童話故事，都圍繞在人生何求的主題上。有一個故事講述兩兄弟在河邊求一柄斧頭，弟弟只求他不小心掉進河裡的舊斧頭，而哥哥則求一個金斧頭，不是他先前有意掉到河裡的舊斧頭。你不一定讀過這個故事，但一定能猜到故事的結局。童話故事是很真實的，因為它們經常在現實人生中出現。
人生的智慧往往反映在我們對生活的所求或所不求上面。亞古珥對他的人生也有兩個祈求，顯出了他深刻的智慧。他求神給他正直的心，忠實於神的話語，不要因為私慾而扭曲聖經的教訓。他更求神不要讓他貧窮，也不要讓他富有，因為他要以神為他人生的至寶。
亞古珥的祈求不單顯出他的人生智慧，也表現出他的勇敢和信心。他祈求不要貧窮是人之常情，因為生存是很現實的。他不要為了現實的需要影響他屬靈的生命。他祈求基本生活的滿足，使他有時間追求屬靈生命的豐富。我想，這也是我們今天很大的提醒。
他的勇氣卻表現在祈求不要富有之上。懂得求什麼，固然顯出一個人的智慧來；但懂得求不要些什麼，更需要極大的智慧和勇氣。亞古珥祈求神不要讓他富有，這在今天的社會價值觀中是一件不可意義的事，即使是基督徒也不一定明白，不一定認同。當然亞古珥不要富有是有更深刻的原因的，並不是單單厭惡財富。亞古珥明白屬靈生命比物質生活更重要，因為前者才是幸福之源。他的智慧就顯在這個選擇上：他不要選擇次好而滿足，他要選擇最好的，即使要放棄次好的也不在乎。
請大家在這星期再讀一次箴言三十章一至九節，想思你要向神為自己的人生和生活求些什麼。
When I was little I had read a lot of stories and found out that many of those stories had a common theme, which was making life decisions. There was a story talking about two brothers. The little brother had dropped his old rusty axe into the river and prayed that he could get it back. The older brother, on the other hand, was praying for a golden axe even though he had intentionally dropped an old rusty axe. When we read these stories sometimes we find them so true that they actually happen in the real life.
Wisdom in life always finds its expression in our every day life decisions. Agur has two wishes and his prayer demonstrates his profound wisdom in life. He asks God to give him a truthful heart that he will handle God’s word faithfully, and won’t abuse the biblical teachings to justify his desires. He also asks God not to make him poor nor rich, because he gives God his highest priority in life.
Agur’s prayer reveals not only his wisdom but also his courage and faith. He asks God not to make him poor. His request is quite understandable for it is a real need. However, he also understands that real need sometimes will hinder us to pursuit our spiritual needs, and he chooses to minimize his physical needs to give room to enrich his spiritual life. I think he really gives us an important advice.
But his courage is expressed in his choice of not being rich. Knowing what to ask will reflect a person’s wisdom, but on the other hand, knowing what not to ask needs even greater wisdom and courage. Agur asks God not to make him rich, which is quite unthinkable in our society. I think even Christians may not necessary understand Agur or share his attitude. Agur does not want to be rich has deeper meaning, and it is not just some common criticism on rich people. Agur is convinced that spiritual richness is more important than material wealth. It is the former that will truly give him happiness. His wisdom expressed in this choice: to choose the best, even if he has to give up the second with no hesitation.
I encourage you to read Proverbs 30:1-9 again this week, and meditate on the things that we want to ask from God.
主祈求合 The Lord Prays for Unity
（約翰福音John 17:11-26）
主耶穌將要走上十字架之前，作了一個很長的禱告，其中一大半的內容是為了門徒的合一祈求。
「合一」在教會生活中是最基本又最重要的屬靈操練。主在離世前再三叮嚀門徒，要追求合一的團契生活。保羅在他的書信中，也多次論及合一的操練。從耶穌的禱告中，我們可以發現合一有三個很重要的神學含意：三位一體、基督的愛與神的榮耀。
三位一體：耶穌要門徒合一，好像祂和天父一樣（17:11）。三位一體的神學觀念強調父、子、聖靈是三個特殊的位格，卻又是一體共融的。這個意思是：雖然祂們是一體，卻仍然保存著各自的位格。在教會生活中的合一並不是同一，每個人的獨特個性不會被取消，但卻又和諧地一起團契事奉，如同一人一般。
基督的愛：合一的基礎是愛（17:26），但這種愛不是一般的愛，因為一般的愛是自私、為己的。使合一成為可能的愛是基督的愛，惟有基督那無私捨己的愛，才能夠把各人和諧地連成一體。
神的榮耀：合一的最終目的是榮耀神（17:22, 24）。在這個充滿矛盾、紛爭和自私的社會中，教會的合一見證會成為神的榮耀。
經文默想
你如何在教會生活中操練合一？你能否在這星期做一些事，讓教會更和諧合一？
Before Jesus was nailed on the cross, he made a very long prayer, and more than half of the prayer was interceding for the unity of the disciples.
Unity is the most important and fundamental spiritual discipline in church life. Jesus had reminded His disciples repeatedly to seek unity in fellowship. Paul, in his epistles, was also doing the same thing talking tirelessly about the unity issue. Interestingly in Jesus’ prayer, we find three important theological implications in the concept of unity: the Trinity, Christ’s love, and God’s glory.
Trinity: Jesus urged disciples to keep the unity, which was demonstrated by Him and the heavenly Father (17:11). The concept of Trinity maintains that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three different and unique persons but in one substance. What the concept of Trinity implies in church life is that unity is not conformity and the unique personality of every individual should be respected and nurtured, but at the same time, everybody can live harmoniously in one fellowship and ministry.
Christ’s love: The foundation of unity is love (17:26). This is not an ordinary love, but the selfless and sacrificial love of Christ, for ordinary love is selfish, and egotistic. Only the love of Christ will bring everybody into one fellowship.
God’s glory: The ultimate purpose for unity is the glory of God (17:22, 24). In this society with all the conflicts, selfishness and egoism, the unity of church life with bring glory to God.
Meditation on the Scripture
How will you discipline yourself to keep the unity in our church? Can you do something for our church to promote unity in this following week?
主耶穌將要走上十字架之前，作了一個很長的禱告，其中一大半的內容是為了門徒的合一祈求。
「合一」在教會生活中是最基本又最重要的屬靈操練。主在離世前再三叮嚀門徒，要追求合一的團契生活。保羅在他的書信中，也多次論及合一的操練。從耶穌的禱告中，我們可以發現合一有三個很重要的神學含意：三位一體、基督的愛與神的榮耀。
三位一體：耶穌要門徒合一，好像祂和天父一樣（17:11）。三位一體的神學觀念強調父、子、聖靈是三個特殊的位格，卻又是一體共融的。這個意思是：雖然祂們是一體，卻仍然保存著各自的位格。在教會生活中的合一並不是同一，每個人的獨特個性不會被取消，但卻又和諧地一起團契事奉，如同一人一般。
基督的愛：合一的基礎是愛（17:26），但這種愛不是一般的愛，因為一般的愛是自私、為己的。使合一成為可能的愛是基督的愛，惟有基督那無私捨己的愛，才能夠把各人和諧地連成一體。
神的榮耀：合一的最終目的是榮耀神（17:22, 24）。在這個充滿矛盾、紛爭和自私的社會中，教會的合一見證會成為神的榮耀。
經文默想
你如何在教會生活中操練合一？你能否在這星期做一些事，讓教會更和諧合一？
Before Jesus was nailed on the cross, he made a very long prayer, and more than half of the prayer was interceding for the unity of the disciples.
Unity is the most important and fundamental spiritual discipline in church life. Jesus had reminded His disciples repeatedly to seek unity in fellowship. Paul, in his epistles, was also doing the same thing talking tirelessly about the unity issue. Interestingly in Jesus’ prayer, we find three important theological implications in the concept of unity: the Trinity, Christ’s love, and God’s glory.
Trinity: Jesus urged disciples to keep the unity, which was demonstrated by Him and the heavenly Father (17:11). The concept of Trinity maintains that the Father, the Son and the Holy Spirit are three different and unique persons but in one substance. What the concept of Trinity implies in church life is that unity is not conformity and the unique personality of every individual should be respected and nurtured, but at the same time, everybody can live harmoniously in one fellowship and ministry.
Christ’s love: The foundation of unity is love (17:26). This is not an ordinary love, but the selfless and sacrificial love of Christ, for ordinary love is selfish, and egotistic. Only the love of Christ will bring everybody into one fellowship.
God’s glory: The ultimate purpose for unity is the glory of God (17:22, 24). In this society with all the conflicts, selfishness and egoism, the unity of church life with bring glory to God.
Meditation on the Scripture
How will you discipline yourself to keep the unity in our church? Can you do something for our church to promote unity in this following week?
寬恕與被寬恕 To Forgive and To Be Forgiven
（馬太福音 Matthews 5: 23-24; 6:14）
耶穌為什麼一而再，再而三地論及寬恕和被寬恕，因為神極重視關係，而福音的核心信息，就是重建破碎的關係，先是神與人，然後是人與人。
人類的苦難除了來自於自然災害之外，大部份都是由於不健康的關係而產生的。我們常常因為關係的矛盾而受傷害和傷害別人，因此就生活得不快樂，也不能夠完成應該完成的事情。人生的意義就是在工作和人際關係上獲得滿足，而工作中的快樂，也常常跟人際關係有關。在種種的關係中，神與我們的關係是最重要的，也是最基本的。但有趣的是，神與我們的關係，卻會直接被我們跟別人的關係所影響！這就是為什麼耶穌要我們先跟人和好，才能與神有真正和好的關係。同樣地，我們如果要去愛神，就得首先去愛人（約壹4:20～21）。
耶穌更說，如果我們不能寬恕別人，或不尋求別人的寬恕，神就不悅納我們的敬拜（馬太福音5:23～24）。
寬恕和被寬恕都不容易，因為當中帶著許多情緒和自尊。我們也經驗過，不願意寬恕和不尋求被寬恕，會使我們生活得很不開心，甚至破壞我們的身、心、靈的健康。神希望我們活得快樂又豐盛，所以祂要我們去愛和寬恕。
經文默想
請你仔細地重讀文中所列出的經文，並默想其中的教導。請你作一個禱告，求聖靈幫助你去寬恕和尋求寬恕。
Why did Jesus talk about the issue of forgiving and being forgiven so many times? It’s because God is very serious about our relationship with him and also the core of the gospel is to rebuild broken relationships; first God and human beings, and then people to people.
Our sufferings come mostly from unhealthy relationships rather than from natural disasters. When we get hurt or when we hurt others in conflicting relationships, it makes us very unhappy and we are unable to function fruitfully. A meaningful life must come from the satisfactions of work and relationship. In fact, the joy of work is also affected by relationship. With all of our relationships, our relationship with God should be the most important and fundamental one. Interestingly enough, however, our relationship with God will be directly affected by our relationship with people! This is the reason that Jesus asks us to make peace with people first before God will make peace with us. Likewise, if we say we love God, let us first love our fellows (1 John 4:20~21).
Jesus even goes a step further, and says that if we choose not to forgive, or not to seek forgiveness, God will not be pleased by our act of worship (Matt 5:23~24).
It is not easy to forgive or to seek forgiveness, for it involves a lot of emotions and pride. However, we have all experienced at least once how miserable life can be if we choose to live with an unforgiving heart. This kind of unhappiness will destroy our health in body, soul, and spirit. God wants us to have a happy and abundant life, so He demands us to love and forgive.
Meditation on the Scripture:
Please read carefully the Bible verses listed in this article and meditate on their teachings. Please pray to the Holy Spirit for the strength to forgive and to seek forgiveness.
耶穌為什麼一而再，再而三地論及寬恕和被寬恕，因為神極重視關係，而福音的核心信息，就是重建破碎的關係，先是神與人，然後是人與人。
人類的苦難除了來自於自然災害之外，大部份都是由於不健康的關係而產生的。我們常常因為關係的矛盾而受傷害和傷害別人，因此就生活得不快樂，也不能夠完成應該完成的事情。人生的意義就是在工作和人際關係上獲得滿足，而工作中的快樂，也常常跟人際關係有關。在種種的關係中，神與我們的關係是最重要的，也是最基本的。但有趣的是，神與我們的關係，卻會直接被我們跟別人的關係所影響！這就是為什麼耶穌要我們先跟人和好，才能與神有真正和好的關係。同樣地，我們如果要去愛神，就得首先去愛人（約壹4:20～21）。
耶穌更說，如果我們不能寬恕別人，或不尋求別人的寬恕，神就不悅納我們的敬拜（馬太福音5:23～24）。
寬恕和被寬恕都不容易，因為當中帶著許多情緒和自尊。我們也經驗過，不願意寬恕和不尋求被寬恕，會使我們生活得很不開心，甚至破壞我們的身、心、靈的健康。神希望我們活得快樂又豐盛，所以祂要我們去愛和寬恕。
經文默想
請你仔細地重讀文中所列出的經文，並默想其中的教導。請你作一個禱告，求聖靈幫助你去寬恕和尋求寬恕。
Why did Jesus talk about the issue of forgiving and being forgiven so many times? It’s because God is very serious about our relationship with him and also the core of the gospel is to rebuild broken relationships; first God and human beings, and then people to people.
Our sufferings come mostly from unhealthy relationships rather than from natural disasters. When we get hurt or when we hurt others in conflicting relationships, it makes us very unhappy and we are unable to function fruitfully. A meaningful life must come from the satisfactions of work and relationship. In fact, the joy of work is also affected by relationship. With all of our relationships, our relationship with God should be the most important and fundamental one. Interestingly enough, however, our relationship with God will be directly affected by our relationship with people! This is the reason that Jesus asks us to make peace with people first before God will make peace with us. Likewise, if we say we love God, let us first love our fellows (1 John 4:20~21).
Jesus even goes a step further, and says that if we choose not to forgive, or not to seek forgiveness, God will not be pleased by our act of worship (Matt 5:23~24).
It is not easy to forgive or to seek forgiveness, for it involves a lot of emotions and pride. However, we have all experienced at least once how miserable life can be if we choose to live with an unforgiving heart. This kind of unhappiness will destroy our health in body, soul, and spirit. God wants us to have a happy and abundant life, so He demands us to love and forgive.
Meditation on the Scripture:
Please read carefully the Bible verses listed in this article and meditate on their teachings. Please pray to the Holy Spirit for the strength to forgive and to seek forgiveness.
財富 Fortune
俗語說，「人為財死，鳥為食亡。」大部份人的一生大概就只追求兩樣東西：愛情和財富。兩者都是和生存和生命延續有關的，而錢財往往又比愛情重要，因為許多人為了財富可以放棄愛情和家庭的幸福。
人對財富的態度，也可以用來衡量他的價值觀，知道在他的一生中什麼才是最重要的。這就是耶穌所說的，「你的財寶在那裡，你的心就在那裡」。（太6:21）聖經要我們作十一奉獻，一方面可以藉此反映我們對神和祂的國度的態度，另一方面也讓我們操練過以神為主的生活，不把錢財放得比神還要高、還要重要的地位。
聖經並沒有禁止我們賺錢，更沒有禁止我們經營致富。聖經，特別在舊約，經常以地上物質的豐富來應許愛神守律法的人。但聖經也很清楚把愛神和遵行祂旨意放在首先，地上物質的祝福放在第二。先有第一才會有第二，不然，有了財富我們也不會運用，反而被財富所害，使自己更遠離神，把祝福變成詛咒。
我們到底有多愛神和祂的國度呢？很簡單，我們可以馬上意識到的，看看我們每星期向祂所作的奉獻便大概明白了。
In a Chinese saying, “Man will die for money and bird will be captured by chasing food.” Majority of people chase after only two things in their lives, and these things are love and money. They both have one thing in common, which is the motivation of survival. Between money and love, money is always more important than love, for many people are willing to sacrifice love and family happiness for money.
Our attitude toward wealth can also be used as a measure to check the priority in our lives to reveal things that have more value. Therefore, Jesus once said, “For your heart will always be where your riches are.” (Matt. 6:21) Bible requires us to tithe to reflect our attitude toward God and His kingdom, and on the other hand, to allow us to practice not putting money higher than God.
Bible does not prohibit us to earn money or do business to create wealth. In the Old Testament, especially, is using material goods as blessing to those who love God and obey His word. However, Bible does make it very clear that, loving God should be put first, and the material blessings will follow. Or otherwise, we don’t know how to use wealth correctly, further more to depart us from God, and turn blessing into cursing in our lives.
Do we really know how much we love God? It is very simple, and we can find out immediately by seeing how we give to God in every worship service.
人對財富的態度，也可以用來衡量他的價值觀，知道在他的一生中什麼才是最重要的。這就是耶穌所說的，「你的財寶在那裡，你的心就在那裡」。（太6:21）聖經要我們作十一奉獻，一方面可以藉此反映我們對神和祂的國度的態度，另一方面也讓我們操練過以神為主的生活，不把錢財放得比神還要高、還要重要的地位。
聖經並沒有禁止我們賺錢，更沒有禁止我們經營致富。聖經，特別在舊約，經常以地上物質的豐富來應許愛神守律法的人。但聖經也很清楚把愛神和遵行祂旨意放在首先，地上物質的祝福放在第二。先有第一才會有第二，不然，有了財富我們也不會運用，反而被財富所害，使自己更遠離神，把祝福變成詛咒。
我們到底有多愛神和祂的國度呢？很簡單，我們可以馬上意識到的，看看我們每星期向祂所作的奉獻便大概明白了。
In a Chinese saying, “Man will die for money and bird will be captured by chasing food.” Majority of people chase after only two things in their lives, and these things are love and money. They both have one thing in common, which is the motivation of survival. Between money and love, money is always more important than love, for many people are willing to sacrifice love and family happiness for money.
Our attitude toward wealth can also be used as a measure to check the priority in our lives to reveal things that have more value. Therefore, Jesus once said, “For your heart will always be where your riches are.” (Matt. 6:21) Bible requires us to tithe to reflect our attitude toward God and His kingdom, and on the other hand, to allow us to practice not putting money higher than God.
Bible does not prohibit us to earn money or do business to create wealth. In the Old Testament, especially, is using material goods as blessing to those who love God and obey His word. However, Bible does make it very clear that, loving God should be put first, and the material blessings will follow. Or otherwise, we don’t know how to use wealth correctly, further more to depart us from God, and turn blessing into cursing in our lives.
Do we really know how much we love God? It is very simple, and we can find out immediately by seeing how we give to God in every worship service.
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)