Why repeatedly reading the entire Bible is import?

Why repeatedly reading the entire Bible is import?

One has to keep repeatedly reading the entire book of the Bible to soak oneself into the language culture in order to gain more understanding of each Bible verse. Sometimes recital Bible verse is helpfully as daily reminder or responding to unexpected events and temptation. One can only get the superficial meaning or may even miss-interpreted the meaning by just looking into a specific Bible verse. In order to understand the true meaning of each verse, one must not only read by language, but also bathed oneself into the language culture.

For example, we cannot just pick one verse:

Acts 16:31
31They replied, "Believe in the Lord Jesus, and you will be saved—you and your household

If one is familiar with the language culture of the Bible, one would immediately doubt the “stand-alone” power of Acts 16:31. There must be some more to it.

One must read its following context as well:

Acts 16:32-34
32Then they spoke the word of the Lord to him and to all the others in his house. 33At that hour of the night the jailer took them and washed their wounds; then immediately he and all his family were baptized. 34The jailer brought them into his house and set a meal before them; he was filled with joy because he had come to believe in God—he and his whole family.

If you just read the Acts 16:31, one may think that if I believe in the Lord Jesus, then all people in my household will be saved. However, this is not true.

Following Acts 16:32-34, one has to spread the Gospel to people in his/her household and all people in the household have to believe in the Lord Jesus before everyone be saved. Therefore, salvation only applied to individual person who believed in Lord Jesus. There is no “relatives” relationship in God’s Kingdom. You believed in Lord Jesus then you will be saved. If you don’t believed in Lord Jesus then you won’t be saved. It is simple and direct.

Two Boxes

http://home.graffiti.net/kenswood:graffiti.net/god-Boxes.htm

你手上有幾個盒子，你有沒有這兩個很棒的盒子？

不管金盒子或是黑盒子都是上帝的恩典與慈愛喔.....

同樣，我亦感謝上帝給我一切包括開心或不開心。

任何事不論結果如何

總是對你有益的，

但可能你總是過了一段時間後

才會明白這個道理

聰明的人會在別人錯誤中學習

遲鈍的人會在自己錯誤中學習

愚蠢的人會在別人錯誤中繼續錯誤

更愚蠢的人會在自己錯誤中繼續錯誤

你呢????

你應該放鬆應付每一次挑戰 -

「人生 不是得到…就是學到」

這就是人生的一小部份.....

送上God's Boxes兩個盒子

I have in my hands two boxes,

我手上有兩個盒子

Which God gave me to hold.

都是上帝給的

He said, "Put all your sorrows in the black box,

祂說把悲傷放在黑盒子裡

And all your joys in the gold."

把快樂放在金盒子裡

I heeded His words, and in the two boxes,

我聽了祂的話

Both my joys and sorrows I stored,

把快樂和悲傷分別裝進兩個盒子裡

But though the gold became heavier each day,

不過. 金盒子每天都有加重

The black was as light as before.

但黑盒子卻依舊輕省

With curiosity, I opened the black,

我感到很好奇就打開黑盒子

I wanted to find out why,

想要一探究竟

And I saw, in the base of the box, a hole,

結果我在盒子底下發現一個洞

Which my sorrows had fallen out by.

我的悲傷都從那邊漏出去了

I showed the hole to God, and mused,

我把那個洞指給上帝看感到納悶

"I wonder where my sorrows could be!"

我不知道我的悲傷哪裡去了

He smiled a gentle smile and said,

祂輕輕地微笑說

"My child, they're all here with me."

我的孩子.它們都在我這兒呢

I asked God, why He gave me the boxes,

我問上帝為什麼祂要給我兩個盒子

Why the gold and the black with the hole?

為什麼一個金色的 一個黑色卻漏底的

"My child, the gold is for you to count your blessings,

我的孩子金盒子是要給你數算你的祝福的

The black is for you to let go."

黑盒子是要給你放下的..

聖經馬太11:28說"

凡勞苦擔重擔的人、可以到我這裡來、我就使你們得安息。"

Matthew 11:28

"Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest."

Dare to say "No" to Stupid Respect

Dare to say "No" to Stupid Respect

As matured individuals, I guess we need to dare to say "NO" to stupid respect in order to be responsible.

1 Kings 2:13-25
Now Adonijah, the son of Haggith, went to Bathsheba, Solomon's mother. Bathsheba asked him, "Do you come peacefully?"
He answered, "Yes, peacefully." Then he added, "I have something to say to you."
"You may say it," she replied.
"As you know," he said, "the kingdom was mine. All Israel looked to me as their king. But things changed, and the kingdom has gone to my brother; for it has come to him from the LORD. 16 Now I have one request to make of you. Do not refuse me."
"You may make it," she said.
So he continued, "Please ask King Solomon—he will not refuse you—to give me Abishag the Shunammite as my wife."
"Very well," Bathsheba replied, "I will speak to the king for you."
When Bathsheba went to King Solomon to speak to him for Adonijah, the king stood up to meet her, bowed down to her and sat down on his throne. He had a throne brought for the king's mother, and she sat down at his right hand.
"I have one small request to make of you," she said. "Do not refuse me."
The king replied, "Make it, my mother; I will not refuse you."
So she said, "Let Abishag the Shunammite be given in marriage to your brother Adonijah."
King Solomon answered his mother, "Why do you request Abishag the Shunammite for Adonijah? You might as well request the kingdom for him—after all, he is my older brother—yes, for him and for Abiathar the priest and Joab son of Zeruiah!"
Then King Solomon swore by the LORD : "May God deal with me, be it ever so severely, if Adonijah does not pay with his life for this request! And now, as surely as the LORD lives—he who has established me securely on the throne of my father David and has founded a dynasty for me as he promised—Adonijah shall be put to death today!" So King Solomon gave orders to Benaiah son of Jehoiada, and he struck down Adonijah and he died.

Then & Now: Holy Spirit is the Shadow of Christ

Then & Now: Holy Spirit is the Shadow of Christ

1 Kings 8:6-8 The priests then brought the ark of the LORD's covenant to its place in the inner sanctuary of the temple, the Most Holy Place, and put it beneath the wings of the cherubim. The cherubim spread their wings over the place of the ark and overshadowed the ark and its carrying poles. These poles were so long that their ends could be seen from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, but not from outside the Holy Place; and they are still there today.
Most Israelites may not able to physically seeing the ark of the LORD's covenant in the Most Holy Place, but they saw the shadow of the poles of the ark from the Holy Place in front of the inner sanctuary, and they knew the ark of the LORD's covenant was there.

God’s plan is very much in detail, even into the length of the “poles” carrying the ark! They were long enough to yield a shadow from the Most Holy Place to the Holy Place. Also, there was a limit of the poles’ length, so that they indicated to Israelites that if they chose to walk away from God’s holiness, then the shadow would not be over them.

They would not able to see the shadow outside the Holy Place represented that if their hearts were outside God’s holiness then they would not be under the shadow. This was the people’s choice - to be kept under the shadow, or to walk away from the shadow.

We are not yet physically seeing Jesus face to face, but Jesus left his shadow everywhere. Therefore, we know Holy Spirit is with us. Not until the second coming of Christ, we will be seeing Jesus face to face.

To me, Holy Spirit is more-or-less like the shadow of Christ.

Nowadays, we have a choice - to listen to Holy Spirit or to shut out Holy Spirit!

Solomon's Wisdom & Delegation

Solomon was wise but he delegated his tasks - by recognizing and using skillful people.

… 1 Kings 3-7

Solomon was a wise man:

1 Kings 4:32-34
He spoke three thousand proverbs and his songs numbered a thousand and five. He described plant life, from the cedar of Lebanon to the hyssop that grows out of walls. He also taught about animals and birds, reptiles and fish. Men of all nations came to listen to Solomon's wisdom, sent by all the kings of the world, who had heard of his wisdom.

Solomon delegated his tasks:

(1) Temple Building - asking help from Hiram king of Tyre

1 Kings 5:6
"So give orders that cedars of Lebanon be cut for me. My men will work with yours, and I will pay you for your men whatever wages you set. You know that we have no one so skilled in felling timber as the Sidonians."

1 Kings 5:8-9
"I have received the message you sent me and will do all you want in providing the cedar and pine logs. My men will haul them down from Lebanon to the sea, and I will float them in rafts by sea to the place you specify. There I will separate them and you can take them away. And you are to grant my wish by providing food for my royal household."

(2) Furnishing the Temple - asking help from a bronze craftsman, Huram

1 Kings 7:13-14
King Solomon sent to Tyre and brought Huram, whose mother was a widow from the tribe of Naphtali and whose father was a man of Tyre and a craftsman in bronze. Huram was highly skilled and experienced in all kinds of bronze work. He came to King Solomon and did all the work assigned to him.

Solomon’s Source of Wisdom

Solomon’s source of wisdom - stewardship instead of ownership, and know the owner’s well, plus practice servant-hood

Solomon wisdom is from God, he wasn’t born wise. In fact, David passed his throne to him because of his mother’s (Bathsheba) request. Solomon could even fight nor speak up for himself. Later on, he asked God for wisdom to govern God’s people. He was very clear that he is “God’s servant” being “chosen” to govern “God's people”. (i.e. He did not claim ownership of the people). Nowadays, foolishness (sin-within-oneself) begins when one claims ownership instead of stewardship, and being ignorant to the ultimate owner of the universe.

In summary, Solomon’s source of wisdom - stewardship instead of ownership, and know the owner’s well, plus practice of servant-hood.

1 Kings 3:5-14
At Gibeon the LORD appeared to Solomon during the night in a dream, and God said, "Ask for whatever you want me to give you." Solomon answered, "You have shown great kindness to your servant, my father David, because he was faithful to you and righteous and upright in heart. You have continued this great kindness to him and have given him a son to sit on his throne this very day. "Now, O LORD my God, you have made your servant king in place of my father David. But I am only a little child and do not know how to carry out my duties. Your servant is here among the people you have chosen, a great people, too numerous to count or number. So give your servant a discerning heart to govern your people and to distinguish between right and wrong. For who is able to govern this great people of yours?" The Lord was pleased that Solomon had asked for this. So God said to him, "Since you have asked for this and not for long life or wealth for yourself, nor have asked for the death of your enemies but for discernment in administering justice, I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart, so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both riches and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in my ways and obey my statutes and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.

Being God’s Workmanship

Being God’s Workmanship

Just to be God’s workmanship, like a servant, not to question too much on master intention…

When I was in my early 20’s, my church pastor’s wife used to ask me pick up a kid (he was about 7 or 8 years old) every Sunday morning so he can attend Sunday school. It is not too convenient, as it is not “on-the-way”; I have to specifically drive down to China Town to pick him up. Sometime I feel reluctant, and want to cease the service. Sometimes, he didn’t come down from his apartment even after quite a few horns and a period of waiting. I found him a bit troublesome. Somehow, I didn’t cease my service until I went back to HK for a period of stay & my family moved to another church for some other reason. After about 7 years, I got married and moved back to the same church. The boy was still attending the same church. Now, another 7 years passed, he became a deacon of the church.

Never question when God assign me a job, like Nike: “Don’t ask why, just do it!” We are working for Him, not for ourselves. His plan is much higher than mine.

Time Allocation

Time Allocation

Everyone has 24 hrs a day, it really boils down to howone organizes his/her work, allocates his/herresources (time, aids and delegation), and how onesets his/her priority. I prefer spending time tothink of ways resolving problems than spending myenergy on complaining. Some subjects ofcomplain/whining open hole(s) to Satan; therefore, onehas to be careful and alert at all time before gettinginto our complaining/whining mood.

Zen Buddhism – Master and Pupil / Chicken or Egg

Zen Buddhism – Master and Pupil / Chicken or Egg

"Zen Buddhism" - Pupil Relationship" including "ideas" like "A Master will only appear when the Pupil is ready". We may be "Offered" or "Offering" the most "Delicious Fruit" but it may still be to no avail if the "Recipients" are not "Ready"...really questionable. Only rational to me is that there must be a master before a pupil. If there's no master, what skills to be inherited or to be apprenticed or to be trained? Nothing! No purpose?! What to be driven? Then what life? Personally, I prefer not only to have a master, but also a master of love. I hope all we do and say are purely to glorify God, not to boast ourselves.

Relationship between Believe and Knowledge

Relationship between Believe and Knowledge

To me, believe is foundation of knowledge. As an analogy, believe is the natural law of force, and knowledge is the design, blue prints, architecture and building.

Things happening to People and their Purpose

Things happening to People and their Purpose

Romans 8:28 (New International Version)
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.

“The Purpose Driven Life” by Rev. Rick Warren Day 25 shed the light things happened to work for the good of people who love God. Therefore, good may not be applicable to people who don’t love him; or even harmful.

I found the praying for spiritual leaders, the effective of prayers are almost immediate. When praying for myself or other Christians, the effective rate is medium and slow, sometimes extremely slow. When praying for non-Christians, the effective rate is extremely slow.

Faith, Hope, Love

Faith, Hope, Love

"And now these three remain: faith, hope and love. But the greatest of these is love. - 1 Corinthians 13:13". Love is relationship/character building and peace making. Only love can bring into eternity, that's why it is the greatest of all three. Faith and Hope are only good for when we are still living in this world. Faith and Hope won't be necessary in our heavenly home as we are already there - as spreading Gospel ceased (all are Christians in our heavenly home) and our hope has been designated. However, love still continues, as we will be associating each other in Christ during eternity.

Out of Expectation Delivery Time

Out of Expectation Delivery Time

My husband and I were trying to mail a book from Vancouver B.C. Canada - "The Purpose Driven Life" to my husband's brother in London U.K. We were calculating our budget, so we mailed it out as surface mail which normally would take about 4-6 weeks. Surprisingly, my brother-in-law received the parcel 3.5 days after we have mailed it out. It is even faster than normal airmail! As my husband said, "No one can delay God's work!"