My Sunday Scripture 2010.7.25
(It is so much pleasure to read the scripture in advance. It seems a light in advance has shine into my heart.
Sorry I have to list the scripture here before time. since I will not be in HK for two weeks, and I am not sure whether I can upload anying in Sheunghai. Richard, 2010.7.14)
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Then Yahweh said, 'The outcry against Sodom and Gomorrah is so great and their sin is so grave, that I shall go down and see whether or not their actions are at all as the outcry reaching me would suggest. Then I shall know.'
While the men left there and went to Sodom, Yahweh remained in Abraham's presence.
Abraham stepped forward and said, 'Will you really destroy the upright with the guilty? Suppose there are fifty upright people in the city. Will you really destroy it? Will you not spare the place for the sake of the fifty upright in it?
Do not think of doing such a thing: to put the upright to death with the guilty, so that upright and guilty fare alike! Is the judge of the whole world not to act justly?'
Yahweh replied, 'If I find fifty upright people in the city of Sodom, I will spare the whole place because of them.'
Abraham spoke up and said, 'It is presumptuous of me to speak to the Lord, I who am dust and ashes: Suppose the fifty upright were five short? Would you destroy the whole city because of five?' 'No,' he replied, 'I shall not destroy it if I find forty-five there.'
Abraham persisted and said, 'Suppose there are forty to be found there?' 'I shall not do it,' he replied, 'for the sake of the forty.'
Abraham said, 'I hope the Lord will not be angry if I go on: Suppose there are only thirty to be found there?' 'I shall not do it,' he replied, 'if I find thirty there.'
He said, 'It is presumptuous of me to speak to the Lord: Suppose there are only twenty there?' 'I shall not destroy it,' he replied, 'for the sake of the twenty.'
He said, 'I trust my Lord will not be angry if I speak once more: perhaps there will only be ten.' 'I shall not destroy it,' he replied, 'for the sake of the ten.'
Genesis 18:20-32
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Now it happened that he was in a certain place praying, and when he had finished, one of his disciples said, 'Lord, teach us to pray, as John taught his disciples.'
He said to them, 'When you pray, this is what to say: Father, may your name be held holy, your kingdom come; give us each day our daily bread, and forgive us our sins,
for we ourselves forgive each one who is in debt to us. And do not put us to the test.'
He also said to them, 'Suppose one of you has a friend and goes to him in the middle of the night to say, "My friend, lend me three loaves, because a friend of mine on his travels has just arrived at my house and I have nothing to offer him;"
and the man answers from inside the house, "Do not bother me. The door is bolted now, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot get up to give it to you."
I tell you, if the man does not get up and give it to him for friendship's sake, persistence will make him get up and give his friend all he wants.
'So I say to you: Ask, and it will be given to you; search, and you will find; knock, and the door will be opened to you.
For everyone who asks receives; everyone who searches finds; everyone who knocks will have the door opened.
What father among you, if his son asked for a fish, would hand him a snake?
Or if he asked for an egg, hand him a scorpion?
If you then, evil as you are, know how to give your children what is good, how much more will the heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask him!'
Luke 11:1-13
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My Reading Notes:
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When I read about the story of Abraham a long long ago, I did find it admiring. Yes, his courage is admirable. Who can talk to God like that? Who can bargain with God is such a way????
And the question is: Where does his courage come from? Why is he so courageous?
Yes, it is because of LOVE. He did love his people, so he can dare to ask.
And now Jesus had ENCOURAGED us to ask. Do I have the courage to ask God anything?
It is so much pleasure to read this two scriptures together. It explains many thing.
It is one thing I can assure for the whole world, that if we did ask anything, we are sure to receive it. All those in h
istory, all those who had fought hard, did have a result. Any one who did ask, did receive.
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