My Sunday Scripture 2011.3.27
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The Text John 4:5-42
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5 On the way he came to the Samaritan town called Sychar near the land that Jacob gave to his son Joseph.
6 Jacob's well was there and Jesus, tired by the journey, sat down by the well. It was about the sixth hour.
7 When a Samaritan woman came to draw water, Jesus said to her, 'Give me something to drink.'
8 His disciples had gone into the town to buy food.
9 The Samaritan woman said to him, 'You are a Jew. How is it that you ask me, a Samaritan, for something to drink?' -- Jews, of course, do not associate with Samaritans.
10 Jesus replied to her: If you only knew what God is offering and who it is that is saying to you, 'Give me something to drink,' you would have been the one to ask, and he would have given you living water.
11 'You have no bucket, sir,' she answered, 'and the well is deep: how do you get this living water?
12 Are you a greater man than our father Jacob, who gave us this well and drank from it himself with his sons and his cattle?'
13 Jesus replied: Whoever drinks this water will be thirsty again;
14 but no one who drinks the water that I shall give will ever be thirsty again: the water that I shall give will become a spring of water within, welling up for eternal life.
15 'Sir,' said the woman, 'give me some of that water, so that I may never be thirsty or come here again to draw water.'
16 'Go and call your husband,' said Jesus to her, 'and come back here.'
17 The woman answered, 'I have no husband.' Jesus said to her, 'You are right to say, "I have no husband";
18 for although you have had five, the one you now have is not your husband. You spoke the truth there.'
19 'I see you are a prophet, sir,' said the woman.
20 'Our fathers worshipped on this mountain, though you say that Jerusalem is the place where one ought to worship.'
21 Jesus said: Believe me, woman, the hour is coming when you will worship the Father neither on this mountain nor in Jerusalem.
22 You worship what you do not know; we worship what we do know; for salvation comes from the Jews.
23 But the hour is coming -- indeed is already here -- when true worshippers will worship the Father in spirit and truth: that is the kind of worshipper the Father seeks.
24 God is spirit, and those who worship must worship in spirit and truth.
25 The woman said to him, 'I know that Messiah -- that is, Christ -- is coming; and when he comes he will explain everything.'
26 Jesus said, 'That is who I am, I who speak to you.'
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My Reading Notes:
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Jesus had talked about "Truth" in different places. One is here, and the other is about baptism. John said that when the Messiah comes, the Mesiah will baptise us with "The holy spirit and fire"
And these are highly symbolic terms:
We shall worship God in "spirit" and "truth"
and We shall be baptised with "spirit" and "fire"
What is "Fire"? and What is "Truth"?
I can only say, I have but a very vague feeling in it. And I believe this is the most important point.
How are we to worship God?
Shall we do as the Scripts and Pharisee?
Shall we knelt in the churches without knowing what we are and where we are going?
Or, Shall we seek an answer? Shall we seek the truth? With the help of the spirit?
I believe we shall seek the truth. That is the proper way to worship God.
2011年3月30日 星期三
2011年3月12日 星期六
When should we expect divine intervention?
My Sunday Scripture 2011.3.13.
The Text: Matthew 4:1-11.
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you and 'with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'" Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.
My Reading Notes:
The most important issue here is:
When should we expect divine intervention?
For example, in the height of an Earth quake, should we or could we expect an divine intervention?
How do we seperate the human effort and divine intervention?
There must be a balance between the two, thouhg we can not handle it well always. And the first important question is: Havent I well prepared?
Havent we done our best?
Yes you can ask always. But you have to ask yourself first.
The Text: Matthew 4:1-11.
At that time Jesus was led by the Spirit into the desert to be tempted by the devil. He fasted for forty days and forty nights, and afterwards he was hungry. The tempter approached and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, command that these stones become loaves of bread." He said in reply, "It is written: 'One does not live by bread alone, but by every word that comes forth from the mouth of God.'" Then the devil took him to the holy city, and made him stand on the parapet of the temple, and said to him, "If you are the Son of God, throw yourself down. For it is written: 'He will command his angels concerning you and 'with their hands they will support you, lest you dash your foot against a stone.'" Jesus answered him, "Again it is written, 'You shall not put the Lord, your God, to the test.'" Then the devil took him up to a very high mountain, and showed him all the kingdoms of the world in their magnificence, and he said to him, "All these I shall give to you, if you will prostrate yourself and worship me." At this, Jesus said to him, "Get away, Satan! It is written: 'The Lord, your God, shall you worship and him alone shall you serve.'" Then the devil left him and, behold, angels came and ministered to him.
My Reading Notes:
The most important issue here is:
When should we expect divine intervention?
For example, in the height of an Earth quake, should we or could we expect an divine intervention?
How do we seperate the human effort and divine intervention?
There must be a balance between the two, thouhg we can not handle it well always. And the first important question is: Havent I well prepared?
Havent we done our best?
Yes you can ask always. But you have to ask yourself first.
2011年3月5日 星期六
I have only one word here: Act!
My Sunday Scripture 2011.3.6
The Text: Mathew 7:21-27
'It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.
When the day comes many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?"
Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, all evil doers!
'Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock.
Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock.
But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand.
Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!'
My Reading Notes:
I have only one word here: Act!
The Text: Mathew 7:21-27
'It is not anyone who says to me, "Lord, Lord," who will enter the kingdom of Heaven, but the person who does the will of my Father in heaven.
When the day comes many will say to me, "Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy in your name, drive out demons in your name, work many miracles in your name?"
Then I shall tell them to their faces: I have never known you; away from me, all evil doers!
'Therefore, everyone who listens to these words of mine and acts on them will be like a sensible man who built his house on rock.
Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and hurled themselves against that house, and it did not fall: it was founded on rock.
But everyone who listens to these words of mine and does not act on them will be like a stupid man who built his house on sand.
Rain came down, floods rose, gales blew and struck that house, and it fell; and what a fall it had!'
My Reading Notes:
I have only one word here: Act!
Serve only one master
My Sunday Scritpure 2011.2.27
The Text: Matthew 6:24-34
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'No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
'That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and what you are to wear. Surely life is more than food, and the body more than clothing!
Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are?
Can any of you, however much you worry, add one single cubit to your span of life?
And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin;
yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his royal robes was clothed like one of these.
Now if that is how God clothes the wild flowers growing in the field which are there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you who have so little faith?
So do not worry; do not say, "What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What are we to wear?"
It is the gentiles who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all.
Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God's saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well.
So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'
My Reading Notes:
Yes, this is the most important lesson in life. If any could explain it well, he will pass the examination of the kingdom of God.
This is the meaning of Oneness
If there is fire, there will not be wax.
If you are but a drop of wax, if you wanted to burn yourself, your wax will be gone.
Life is for burning, for using, not for keeping.
It is either this or that. Only one matters.
If you can enlighten yourself with this flame, you will be happy in the rest of your burning.
Somehow, you will ask: Should I give up my job? Should I give away all my money? Yes, you should. But to use all your money and your strength in a meaningful way. Use it as a life should use. Use it as a flame should use.
If you really understand that the meaning of oneness, you will not be stupid enough to throw away all your money, even to put that money into some stupid organisation is not wise. Effort should put into the most needed place. Feeding the poor is only secondary important. To teach them how to feed themselves are much much important.
The Text: Matthew 6:24-34
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'No one can be the slave of two masters: he will either hate the first and love the second, or be attached to the first and despise the second. You cannot be the slave both of God and of money.
'That is why I am telling you not to worry about your life and what you are to eat, nor about your body and what you are to wear. Surely life is more than food, and the body more than clothing!
Look at the birds in the sky. They do not sow or reap or gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not worth much more than they are?
Can any of you, however much you worry, add one single cubit to your span of life?
And why worry about clothing? Think of the flowers growing in the fields; they never have to work or spin;
yet I assure you that not even Solomon in all his royal robes was clothed like one of these.
Now if that is how God clothes the wild flowers growing in the field which are there today and thrown into the furnace tomorrow, will he not much more look after you, you who have so little faith?
So do not worry; do not say, "What are we to eat? What are we to drink? What are we to wear?"
It is the gentiles who set their hearts on all these things. Your heavenly Father knows you need them all.
Set your hearts on his kingdom first, and on God's saving justice, and all these other things will be given you as well.
So do not worry about tomorrow: tomorrow will take care of itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.'
My Reading Notes:
Yes, this is the most important lesson in life. If any could explain it well, he will pass the examination of the kingdom of God.
This is the meaning of Oneness
If there is fire, there will not be wax.
If you are but a drop of wax, if you wanted to burn yourself, your wax will be gone.
Life is for burning, for using, not for keeping.
It is either this or that. Only one matters.
If you can enlighten yourself with this flame, you will be happy in the rest of your burning.
Somehow, you will ask: Should I give up my job? Should I give away all my money? Yes, you should. But to use all your money and your strength in a meaningful way. Use it as a life should use. Use it as a flame should use.
If you really understand that the meaning of oneness, you will not be stupid enough to throw away all your money, even to put that money into some stupid organisation is not wise. Effort should put into the most needed place. Feeding the poor is only secondary important. To teach them how to feed themselves are much much important.
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