『基督徒』名稱之由來

「門徒稱為基督徒是從安提亞起首。」（徒11:26下）

感恩，今天學習到「基督徒」此名稱的來源！這是要追溯到當時兩千多年前的猶太文化背景，且是當時的奴隸時代。一個奴隸若被某某人買了成為他的奴隸，那奴隸的額頭上就必須蓋章：某某「徒」，以致每一個人都知道他是屬於誰的奴隸，而且那奴隸也必須將自己的主權完完全全交給他的主人。（和美國當時的黑奴制度有點相似哦！）

雖然我們被稱為基督「徒」，但我們並不是基督的奴隸，乃是上帝的子民，是屬基督的。因主耶穌將自己獻上，成為活祭，為要救贖我們、拯救我們脫離罪惡的綑綁。這是一個愛的關係。但是同時我們要回應上帝的愛，我們必須將我們的主權完完全全的交托在主基督的手中，讓祂在我們的生命中掌王權、居首位，帶領我們走人生的每一個道路：無論逆境、順境，祂都與我們同在。

但是，現今的我們，身為這時代的「基督徒」，我們都做什麼呢？是否濫用上帝的話，只高喊「上帝愛世人」而忘了「上帝是聖潔、公義的神」呢？是否只是嘴裡自稱基督徒把主權交給上帝，卻高喊著人權的自由呢？是否沒好好研讀上帝的話語，卻高喊已經明白了上帝的真理和聖經的奧秘呢？

但願上帝施恩，憐憫我們每一個人。

（謝謝謝牧師今天寶貴的分享！以上純粹是本人對「基督徒」名稱的領悟及感想，若在神學上有錯誤的，請讓我知道，好讓我可以更注意+學習～😊）

六色彩虹課題：

六色彩虹之事，本人沒有在FB明確表示個人的看法，不代表我沒有意見。反而看到一些支持的基督徒所寫的東西，覺得非常難過，同時也提醒自己，自己是不是在一些事情上，也沒看清真理，盲目的跟著個人情感呢？

聖經的東西我覺得反對的基督徒也都分享到亂了，支持的基督徒以及非信徒也都聽到厭煩了（有人說：幹嘛我們要活在基督徒的制度裡？！），所以，我現在只分享一點，本人對『自然』的看法，而且和信仰沒關係的：

把信仰放一邊，單單往科學的角度來看，請問，親愛的同志們，你們要怎麼自然的生小孩呢？（提倡的六色彩虹的綠色代表自然）是不是以後，學校的科學要教導的，不是人怎麼自然的有小孩（可能也會被說這方法過時了、老土），而是用“先進”的方式來懷孕生子呢？那……沒錢的同志朋友會很可憐。因為他們沒有錢不自然的生小孩，然後如果沒有棄嬰事件或孤兒的話，他們就一輩子沒有孩子。除非他們願意放下“身體”和異性同房。哦！等等！到時如果同志社會越來越強大，那非同志的可能會成為他們生孩子的奴隸！禍哉！

再來，艾滋病的由來：

科学研究发现，艾滋病最初是在西非传播的，是一位非洲男子与其他灵长类动物性交后传染开的，当时该男子在与其他灵长类动物性交后，再与其他同性者性交，才开始有艾滋病。http://aids.39.net/yf/cs/105/5/1251547.html

而且也說艾滋病的途徑包括：

性接触传播：包括同性及异性之间的性接触。肛交、口交有着更大的传染危险。http://www.99.com.cn/azb/cs/551491.htm

為什麼要和動物性交呢？為什麼要和同性性交呢？若沒有的話，這些事情都不會發生，因為這已經違反了『自然的定律』！若事情再持續下去，人類會滅亡的！但是現在的人的觀點很可怕：先享受了、做了、得到了再打算，以至今天有很多社會問題的發生，例如：強姦案。我們應該想的更遠一點，而非只是滿足自己的需要。我們需要為社會著想，而不是自私的為自己著想。

總結：

自然就是：
一男一女結合在一起生養眾多，才是自然；七色彩虹，才是自然。

http://i.dailymail.co.uk/i/pix/2014/02/25/article-2567022-1BCBEA4200000578-709_634x286.jpg

『換個積極的角度去看、去想，一切都會更美好』

有時候我們都會有一個mind set：

一件事情的發生一定和“因果”有關——因為某人這樣這樣，所以事情才那樣那樣。

或許，當我們在表面看的時候，可以說『的確如此』。但，這是我們『俗世』的眼光，在上帝的眼裡並非如此『表面』。

回想你過往所『發生的事』，如今帶給你怎樣的影響呢？消極的度過你現在的日子；還是感恩那些事情的發生，讓你現在處事更成熟、更成長、更加信靠上帝呢？如果以『現在的你』站在『當時的你』的立場來看回這些事，你的想法還會一樣嗎？=)

一個普通的風景，

若以不同的角度、

正確的眼光以及正確的態度欣賞；

風景，不再是一個，

而是許多『美麗的風景』！

願大家都用積極的角度來面對現在、未來！=)

拍攝地點：KTF, UTM, Skudai, Johor

後記：
有些人把KTF當著一個普通的女生宿舍，我卻把它當成一個練習攝影的地點。當你留心去尋找角度拍攝的時候，你會發現——上帝創造的一切都是美好的！=)

雨。

10 Reasons to Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering

1. Suffering Comes with the Freedom to Choose

Loving parents long to protect their children from unnecessary pain. But wise parents know the danger of overprotection. They know that the freedom to choose is at the heart of what it means to be human, and that a world without choice would be worse than a world without pain. Worse yet would be a world populated by people who could make wrong choices without feeling any pain. No one is more dangerous than the liar, thief, or killer who doesn't feel the harm he is doing to himself and to others (Genesis 2:15-17).

2. Pain Can Warn Us of Danger

We hate pain, especially in those we love. Yet without discomfort, the sick wouldn't go to a doctor. Worn-out bodies would get no rest. Criminals wouldn't fear the law. Children would laugh at correction. Without pangs of conscience, the daily dissatisfaction of boredom, or the empty longing for significance, people who are made to find satisfaction in an eternal Father would settle for far less. The example of Solomon, lured by pleasure and taught by his pain, shows us that even the wisest among us tend to drift from good and from God until arrested by the resulting pain of their own short-sighted choices (Ecclesiastes 1-12; Psalm 78:34-35; Romans 3:10-18).

3. Suffering Reveals What is in Our Heart

Suffering often occurs at the hand of others. But it has a way of revealing what is in our own hearts. Strength and weakness of heart is found not when everything is going our way but when flames of suffering and temptation test the mettle of our character. As gold and silver are refined by fire, and as coal needs time and pressure to become a diamond, the human heart is revealed and developed by enduring the pressure and heat of time and circumstances. Strength of character is shown not when all is well with our world but in the presence of human pain and suffering (Job 42; Romans 5:3-5; James 1:2-5; 1 Peter 1:6-8).

4. Suffering Takes Us to the Edge of Eternity

If death is the end of everything, then a life filled with suffering isn't fair. But if the end of this life brings us to the threshold of eternity, then the most fortunate people in the universe are those who discover, through suffering, that this life is not all we have to live for. They have let their poverty, grief, and hunger drive them to the Lord of eternity. They are the ones who will discover to their own unending joy why Jesus said, "God blesses those who are poor and realize their need for Him, for the kingdom of Heaven is theirs" (Matthew 5:3; Romans 8:18-19).

5. Pain Loosens Our Grip on This Life

In time, our work and our opinions are sought less and less. Our bodies become increasingly worse for the wear. Gradually they succumb to inevitable obsolescence. Yet, if death is not the end but the threshold of a new day, then the curse of old age is also a blessing. Each new pain makes this world less inviting and the next life more appealing. In its own way, pain paves the way for a graceful departure (Ecclesiastes 12:1-14).

6. Suffering Gives Opportunity to Trust God

The most famous sufferer of all time was a man named Job. According to the Bible, Job lost his family to "a mighty wind," his wealth to war and fire, and his health to painful boils. Through it all, God never told Job why it was happening. As Job endured the accusations of his friends, heaven remained silent. When God finally did speak, He did not reveal that His archenemy Satan had challenged Job's motives for serving God. Neither did the Lord apologies for allowing Satan to test Job's devotion to God. Instead, God talked about the wonders of the heavens, the marvels of the sea, and the cycle of the seasons. Job was left to conclude that if God had the power and wisdom to create this physical universe, there was reason to trust that same God in times of suffering (Job 1-42).

7. God Suffers with Us in Our Suffering

No one has suffered more than our Father in heaven. No one has paid more dearly for the allowance of sin into the world. No one fas so continuously grieved over the pain of a race gone bad. No one has suffered like the One who paid for our sin in the crucified body of His own Son. No one has suffered more than the One who, when He stretched our His arms and died, showed us how much He loved us. It is this God who, in drawing us to Himself, asks us to trust Him when we are suffering and when our own loved ones cry out in out presence (1 Peter 2:21, 3:18, 4:1).

8. God's Comfort is Greater than Our Suffering

The apostle Paul pleaded with the Lord to take away an unidentified source of suffering. But the Lord declined saying, "My grace is all you need. My power works best in weaknesses." In response, Paul said, "I take pleasure in my weaknesses, and in the insults, hardships, persecutions, and troubles that I suffer for Christ. For when I am weak, I am strong" (2 Corinthians 12:9-10). Paul learned that he would rather be with Christ in suffering than without Christ in good health and pleasant circumstances.

9. In Times of Crisis, We Find One Another

No one would choose pain and suffering. But when there is no choice, there remains some consolation. Natural disasters and times of crisis have a way of bringing us together. Hurricanes, fires, earthquakes, riots, illnesses, and accidents all have a way of bringing us to our senses. Suddenly we remember our own mortality and that people are more important than things. We remember that we do need one another and that, above all, we need God. Each time we discover God's comfort in our own suffering, our capacity to help others is increased (2 Corinthians 1:3-4).

10. God Can Turn Suffering Around for Our Good

Through Job's suffering we see a man who not only came to a deeper understanding of God but who also became a source of encouragement for people in every generation to follow. Through the rejection, betrayal, enslavement, and wrongful imprisonment of a man named Joseph, we see someone who eventually was able to say to those who had hurt him, "You intended to harm me, but God intended it all for good" (Genesis 50:20). When everything in us screams at the heavens for allowing suffering, we have reason to look at the eternal outcome and joy of Jesus who in His own suffering on an executioner's cross cried, "My God, My God, why have You abandoned Me?" (Matthew 27:46).

Adapted from 10 Reasons To Believe In A God Who Allows Suffering (c) 2011 RBC Ministries. Read more at http://discoveryseries.org/ten-reasons/

每天讚美一個人

雖然我們家是個典型的小康家庭，但我的父親卻『給』了我很多東西。我很喜歡他講話的方式，且覺得非常值得我學習。舉例來說，如果他看到我有什麼不夠好的地方，他會先說：『以諾，你A的部分做得不錯，不過很可惜，你B的部分有些缺點。』接著，他會用一種帶著興奮的的口吻對我說：『如果你能夠把B的部分也作些改進，你的未來將會無可限量呢！』

其實，他的重點是要批評我不好的地方，但他一定會順便先讚美我表現好的部分，這當中沒有命令句，也沒有說教式用詞，讓我不會產生排斥感。所以，從小到大，即便是在最易叛逆的青春期，父親對我的批評與教誨，我幾乎都是『照單全收』，不會有任何的反抗，並很樂意朝他所欲引導的正面方向去努力改進，所以我說：父親成功地『給』了我很多東西，成功地給了我很多他想要我學習的事物。

他就是一個這麼懂得用鼓勵來建造別人的人，甚至有時我們全家上館子吃飯，如果菜燒得不錯，他一定會特地把服務生給叫過來，對他（她）說：『你們餐廳的菜燒得真好吃，待會兒一定要幫我進去告訴你們的廚師，說今天有一家人來，全家都吃得很開心。』

事後他常說：『如果適時地講兩、三句鼓勵的話，就可以讓辛苦工作的人高興個兩、三天，甚至因此更上進，那我何樂而不為呢？』有一次，我還聽到他禮貌地對104電話查詢專線的小姐說：『謝謝你們的服務，幫了我很大的忙。』

聖經上說：『要隨時說造就人的好話，叫聽見的人得益處。』（以弗所書四章29節）讚美的功效何其大，何其美啊！你知道嗎？據說享譽國際的攝影師史代群（Edward Steichen）原本只是個攝影傻瓜，他在十六歲那年，曾為他家人拍了五十張照片，沖洗之後，竟只洗出了妹妹彈鋼琴的拿一張，其餘的四十九張全部失敗。

他父親很生氣，直說全部都被他搞砸了！唯獨他母親一反常人，一直不斷地稱讚他唯一成功洗出來的那張，說：『你這張拍的真好，光著一張的價值就抵過其餘失敗的四十九張了！』就因著這句話，史代群保住了對攝影的偏好，並把攝影當作終身努力的方向，而成為享譽全球的攝影家。讚美的力量由此可見。

好不好？讓我們一起來推動一個運動——『每天讚美一個人』！不必限定是誰，可以是你的家人、同事，甚至是計程車司機、早餐店老闆，不必多，哪怕只是說個一句，只要每人每天都開口說出一句好話，一天之內，台灣社會就會多出兩千三百多萬句讚美的話，一個月之後，就會有六億九千萬句，若持續一年，這個社會就會多出八十三億九千五百萬句讚美的話。

想想攝影師史代群的例子，你能想像八十三億九千五百萬句讚美、造就人的好話，會對一年之後的台灣社會有著怎樣的良性影響嗎？學習每天至少讚美一個人！不單可以使聽見的人得益處，就連你本身的心情、聲望，乃至所處環境的氣氛，也都會跟著產生意想不到的化學變化呢！

贈人以言，重於珠玉；

傷人以言，甚於劍戟。

——孫子

——《氣質，是最好的名牌》，施以諾

讚美人；讚美神。

詩歌 感恩（王子音樂）

感恩

詞、曲：曾祥怡、洪啟元

讓我們背起自己的十架

奔向那擺在前頭的路程

仰望創世成終的主耶穌

脫去纏累    放下重擔

許多人成為我們的見證

他們像雲彩圍繞着我們

單單存着一顆感恩的心

時時感恩    每時感恩

副歌：

感謝主    即使天色未常藍

感謝主    縱然路旁有荊棘

感謝主    因為主已經應許

日子如何    力量也必如何

【背叛】：不是要你『看清人』，而是要你『尋求神』

From ODJ (Our Daily Journey)
Read: 1 Samuel 23:1-14


Scene 1:
David hears that Keilah is under attack.
David: "Should I help the people in Keilah?"
God: "Yes, go and help them."
David: "Are you sure? It may cost us our lives."
God: "Tes, go."
Narrator: So David went and delivered Keilah fro the Philistines.

Scene 2:
David catches wind of Saul's strategy to destroy him at Keilah.
David: "Will the leaders in Keilah help me?"
God: "No, they won't. They will betray you instead."

The Bible doesn't tell us if David said anything to the Keilah leaders in light of their gratitude (1Samuel 23:4, 12. But I know what I would have done. If I had been David, I would have been cursing them even as I bolted from the "walled town" with my men (v. 7).

David, however, simply arose and left the city. His silence is instructional. It tells us that it doesn't matter how people treat us; what matters most is the way we respond to God.

Four times we read that David inquired of the Lord. In the first instance, when David heard of the misfortune of others, instead of watching his own safety, he asked God whether he should go and help (v. 2). In the second instance, he brought his question to God despite the passionate pleas from his men who had already made up their minds not to go (vv. 3-4). In the third and fourth instances, David was in a tight spot because God had led his there. Yet, instead of getting angry with God, he prayed and awaited an answer (vv. 10-12).

Do you want to be a person after God's heart? David gave us a great example: Seek the Lord's will and do it. 

- Poh Fang Chia

不要拿人的『過去』批判他的『現在』。

之前說過了，人，會改變；過去和現在，也會有不同。

你、我，都一樣。現在跟以前，我們都不能百分之百的確定說：“我沒有變！”

當這樣的情況發生的時候，請看看你周圍的朋友：你，有沒有拿別人的過去批評他的現在呢？

我曾經經歷朋友的批判，因一些誤會，就說我"現在跟以前，有分別咩？還不是一樣！"

我的分析（沒有回應，可是難過了好久）：朋友，我們多久沒有聯絡、分享心情了？你憑什麼判斷我沒有改變呢？你以前有真正的了解過我嗎？請問你是以什麼角度、什麼立場來說我、還是只是看表面呢？

當然，或許我有些“pattern”讓他看了會這樣覺得，所以我都有在做自我檢查。可是透過這樣的事情（雖然只有一個人這樣對我），提醒我小心，不可以這樣的論斷人，當然最好是學習不要論斷。

馬太福音7：1說：“你們不要論斷人，免得你們被論斷” (Do not judge, or you too will be judged) 清楚的解釋了這一切。所以要小心，因為我們怎樣論斷人，也必怎樣被論斷（太7：2a）。

願以下的經文可以成為我們的提醒 =)

Matthew 7

Judging Others

¹ “Do not judge, or you too will be judged. ² For in the same way you judge others, you will be judged, and with the measure you use, it will be measured to you.


³ “Why do you look at the speck of sawdust in your brother’s eye and pay no attention to the plank in your own eye? ⁴ How can you say to your brother, ‘Let me take the speck out of your eye,’ when all the time there is a plank in your own eye? ⁵ You hypocrite, first take the plank out of your own eye, and then you will see clearly to remove the speck from your brother’s eye.


⁶ “Do not give dogs what is sacred; do not throw your pearls to pigs. If you do, they may trample them under their feet, and turn and tear you to pieces.


願上帝祝福你們！

Who am I to judge others?

雨。