
Mount Joy Christian Community Church
喜樂山華人基督教會
靈修 Devotion
Mar 22, 2023
心意更新Renewal Day by Day
哥林多後書2 Corinthians 4:16-18
黃纘舜牧師Pastor Sunny Wong
我喜歡使用 “每日靈糧”(ODB),並鼓勵我們的兄弟姐妹使用它。它具有多種語言,並提供與聖經經文的即時連結。它包含對經文的反思性問題和重點。在3月21日,ODB有一篇由Kimya Loder根據哥林多後書4:16-18寫的關於屬靈更新的靈修。她提到,中國和羅馬尼亞都有一些傳統的方法來恢復皮膚的活力,因為人們喜歡復康更新我們的身體。但是,最重要的更新是在心靈裡,而且需要神來完成。這是真的。我們確實需要照顧身體,但我們無法逃避自然法則。我們的身體會漸漸變壞,但如果我們的靈得到神的愛滋潤時,我們的靈就得力和更新。當我們也把未來交在神的手中和相信神應許時,我們的靈就得安慰。願我們每天都回到祂的話語中得到心意更新!當我們信靠祂時,願我們得到平安!阿門!
I like to use “Our Daily Bread” (ODB) and encourage our brothers and sisters to use it. It has multi-languages, and it provides instant link to the Biblical passage. It contains reflective questions and insight to the passage. On 3/21, ODB has a devotion written by Kimya Loder about Spiritual Renewal based on 2 Corinthians 4:16-18. She mentioned that both China and Romania have some traditional method to rejuvenate the skin because people like to refresh our body. But then the most important renewal is in the spirit which can only be done by God. It is true. We do need to take care of the body but we cannot escape from the law of nature. Our bodies will deteriorate but our soul can be always fresh when it is being nurtured by the love of God. Our souls can also be rejuvenated when we put our future in the hands and we believe the promise of God. May we all go back to His words to get recharged everyday! May we get the peace when we put our faith in HIM! Amen!
Mar 15, 2023
我們當做什麼呢?What should we do?
路加福音 Luke 3:10, 12, 14
黃纘舜牧師Pastor Sunny Wong
有時我們喜歡問神 “我們當做什麼呢?” 但在我們的腦海裡,我們實際上是在問我們應該怎麼做,例如我們應該選擇哪份工作,我們應該選擇哪所學校,我們應該做出什麼商業決策,我們應該給客戶什麼回應,而不會失去工作或讓我們的老闆生氣! 但是,當眾人、稅吏和士兵問同樣的問題“我們當做什麼呢?”時 (路加福音 3:10, 12, 14),他們正在回應施洗約翰的教導——他警告人們要結出果子,與悔改的心相稱。也許我們亦需有同樣的心旨。當我們問神 “我們當做什麼呢?” 時,我們應該思考,當我們需要做各種決定時,我們也應該結出什麼樣的果子——不僅僅是要挑選的工作,要選擇的學校等等,即神是否希望我們因為要做這些決定時也學習反思我們性格上應有的轉變或感受?而事實上,我們應相信當我們每天需要做出不同的決定時,神正在我們的生命上做工,去建立我們的仁愛、喜樂、和平、忍耐、恩慈、良善、信實、 溫柔、節制。因此一個比較完整的問題是“主啊,我們當做什麼呢才能表明我們的悔改,以便我們能夠在神面前結出聖靈的果子?”
Sometimes we like to ask God “what should we do?” but in our mind, we are actually asking what we should do about something e.g. which job we should pick, which school we should choose, what business decision we should make, what response we should give to the clients without losing our job or making our boss angrily! But when the crowd, the tax collectors and the soldiers asked the same question “What should we do?”(Luke 3:10, 12, 14), they were responding to the teaching from John the Baptist – he warned the people to produce fruit in keeping with repentance. It is good for us to share the similar approach. When we ask God “what should we do?”, we should think about what kind of fruits we should bear when we need to make a decision – something more than a job to be picked, a school to be chose, etc, i.e. does God want us to reflect on our character transformation because of the decision to be made? Definitely, I believe that when we need to make different kinds of decision everyday, God is working on our characters to build up our love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Then the complete question is “Lord, what should I do to show our repentance in order that we can bear fruits of Spirit before GOD?”
Mar 8, 2023
呼求和回應Call and Answer
詩篇 Psalm 86:1-5
黃纘舜牧師Pastor Sunny Wong
感謝主垂聽我們的禱告。經過一年的行動不便和多次進出醫院,我父親能夠進入長期護理院得到適當的照顧和幫助,很高興看到他可以有24小時的監察,而且他可以參加為老年人設計的各種活動。我們亦看到他的精神和體力也恢復了一些。神是信實的!聖經的詩篇 86: 4 主啊,求你使僕人心裡歡喜,因為我的心仰望你。5 主啊,你本為良善,樂意饒恕人,有豐盛的慈愛賜給凡求告你的人。!我們的主察看人心,祂每天都在帶領我們。祂是滿有仁慈和憐憫。感謝上帝照顧我的父親!阿門!
Praise the Lord for hearing our prayers. After a year of having difficulty in mobility and getting in and out of hospital several times, my father is able to move in a Long Term Care with proper care and help. It is so thankful to see that he can have 24 hours of monitoring plus he can join different kinds of activities designed for senior people. We also see that he starts to get back some energy. God is faithful! His words say that “Ps 86 4 Bring joy to your servant, Lord, for I put my trust in you. 5 You, Lord, are forgiving and good, abounding in love to all who call to you!” Our Lord is truly searching our hearts and HE is leading us every day. HE is forgiving and good. Thank God for taking care of my father! Amen!
Mar 1, 2023
公義審判世界 Judge the earth
詩篇 Psalm 98:9
黃纘舜牧師Pastor Sunny Wong
詩篇 98:9 因為他來要審判遍地,他要按公義審判世界,按公正審判萬民。
俄羅斯和烏克蘭之間的戰爭已經超過一年了。2022年2月24日,俄羅斯入侵烏克蘭,從那時起,成千上萬的人喪生,數百萬人失去了家園。這場不公義的戰爭什麼時候才能結束?烏克蘭人什麼時候才能恢復和平?俄羅斯的許多婦女什麼時候才會停止因這場不公義和錯誤的戰爭而失去兒子或丈夫?世界何時不會受到核戰或糧食短缺的威脅?世界什麼時候不會遭受商品和食品的高通脹壓力?
讓我們在主面前呼求和歌唱,求祂來審判這地。願祂來按公義審判這世界,按公正審判萬民!阿門!
Psalm 98:9 let them sing before the Lord, for he comes to judge the earth. He will judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity.
The war between Russia and Ukraine has passed one year. On Feb 24 2022, Russia invaded Ukraine and since then thousands of people had lost their lives and millions of people had lost their homes. When will this unjust war finish? When will Ukrainians have peace again? When will many women in Russia stop losing their sons or husbands for unjust and wrong reasons? When will the world not be threatened with nucleus war or shortage of food? When will the world not suffer from high inflation of good and products?
Let’s cry out and sing before the Lord to ask HIM to come and judge the earth. May HE come to judge the world in righteousness and the peoples with equity! Amen!
Feb 22, 2023
聖灰日Ash Wednesday
但以理書 Daniel 9:3
黃纘舜牧師Pastor Sunny Wong
但以理書 9:3我便禁食,披麻蒙灰,定意向主神祈禱懇求。
傳統上,猶太人用禁食、披麻蒙灰來表達他們的悔改。天主教會採用這種做法加上預苦期 (Lent) 來幫助信徒悔改併為即將到來的耶穌受難日和復活節主日做好準備。儘管神沒有在聖經中直接命令我們遵守聖灰日和預苦期,但當我們準備耶穌受難日和復活節主日時,也可以藉著這兩節期來提醒我們在耶穌面前應有的侮改。的確,每次我們回到神面前時,都應該悔改,不單只在這兩節期。然而,我們可以提醒自己,耶穌受難日和復活節星期天不僅僅是假期,我們應該及早準備我們的心靈,因耶穌的死和祂的復活都與我們的罪、祂的寬恕和祂的應許有關。願我們利用聖灰日來作提醒,並更深入地尋找在我們的內心的罪,以至我們在十字架前更能感受到主的憐憫,亦更深入地經歷祂的恩典!阿門!
Daniel 9:3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.
Traditionally Jewish people express their repentance in fasting, sackcloth and ashes. Catholic church adopts this practice plus Lent to help believers to repent and prepare their hearts for the coming Good Friday and Easter Sunday. Even though God does not directly command us to follow Ash Wednesday and Lent, it is advisable to use these two events to solidify our attention to Jesus while we are preparing for the Good Friday and Easter Sunday. It is true that repentance should be practiced every time when we go back to God. However, we can remind ourselves in solemn manner that Good Friday and Easter Sunday are not simply any extra holidays. We should also be reminded that the death of Jesus and His resurrection are all related to our sins, His forgiveness and His promise. May we use Ash Wednesday to strengthen our faith and search deeper in our hearts so that we can experience deeper His grace when we receive His forgiveness on the cross! Amen!
Feb 15, 2023
終生相伴Life Companion
詩篇 Psalm 23:6
黃纘舜牧師Pastor Sunny Wong
詩篇23是最美麗和最感人的詩篇之一。這詩篇的每一節詩都充滿鼓勵和祝福。詩篇 23:6 我一生一世必有恩惠、慈愛隨著我,我且要住在耶和華的殿中,直到永遠。
能夠知道上帝的愛每天都跟隨我們,真是安慰和感恩了。我們在生命當中可能會遇到不同的挑戰和困難,但我們永遠不會錯過祂的愛。我們可能看不清我們未來,但我們永遠不會錯過祂的引導。我們可能迷失在這世界當中,但我們可以在祂手中找到真正的庇護所。所以當我們感到自己處於不確定、失落和深淵之中時,讓我們記住並仰望祂。祂永遠與我們同在!阿門!
Psalm 23 is one of the most beautiful and loving psalms. Each verse of this psalm is so encouraging and blessing. Psalm 23:6 - Surely your goodness and love will follow me
all the days of my life, and I will dwell in the house of the Lord forever. It is so comforting and thankful to know that God’s love is following us every day. We may encounter different kinds of challenges and difficulties but we never miss His love. We may not see a clear picture of our future but we never miss His guidance. We may feel lost in the world but we can find true shelter in His hands. Let’s remember and look upon on HIM when we feel we are in the midst of uncertainty, loss and abyss. HE is always with us! Amen!
Feb 8, 2023
特別任務Special Mission
申命記 Deuteronomy 6:4-7
黃纘舜牧師Pastor Sunny Wong
耶穌基督把大使命交給了祂的門徒。神給了祂的子民最大的誡命——要盡心、盡性、盡力愛耶和華你的神。我們可能想知道如何做到這一切!神就給祂的子民兩個指示——把誡命放在他們的心裡,然後去教導他們的孩子 (申命記6:6-7)。 神提醒我們,在祂心中重要的是——我們需要學習祂的話語,然後幫助我們的孩子也接受它。有時我們可能會想到許多偉大或大型的事工,但我們可能會錯過了在神眼中卻是首先重要的事情。祂關心我們和我們的孩子- ” 兒女是耶和華所賜的產業,所懷的胎是他所給的賞賜”(詩篇127:3)。但我們通常把這個神聖的任務留給教會、主日學老師或青年義工。事實上,神是給了父母可能是最重要的使命—— 教養孩童,使他走當行的道,就是到老他也不偏離 (箴言22:6)。願神帶領每個父母都記念祂這特殊任務 - 幫助孩子們認識耶穌,學習祂的教導並愛祂!阿門!
Jesus Christ gave His disciples the Great Commission. God gave His people the greatest commandment – Love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength. We might wonder how to do it all! God then gave His people two steps – put the commandments in their hearts and then go to teach their children. God reminds us that what matters in His heart – we need to learn His Word and then help our children to embrace it too. Sometimes we might think about many God-sized ministries but we may miss what matters to God first. HE cares about us and our children who are a heritage from the Lord, offspring a reward from him (Psalm 127:3). But usually we leave this honorable task to the church, Sunday School teachers or the youth volunteers. Actually God gives the parents probably the most important mission - Start children off on the way they should go, and even when they are old they will not turn from it (Proverb 22:6). May God help each parent to remember HIS special mission – to help the children know JESUS, learn HIS words and love HIM! Amen!
Feb 1, 2023
神是輕慢不得的God cannot be mocked
加拉太書 Galatians 6:7
黃纘舜牧師Pastor Sunny Wong
耶穌說,最重要的誡命是要盡心、盡性、盡意、盡力愛我們的神。祂還說我們需要愛人如己。神的標準是最高的。我們應該盡力順服,在神面前承認我們不能達到這麼祟高的標準。然而,我們不能以此為藉口來掩蓋我們的不順服或不達到祂祟高的標準。神是輕慢不得的,但當我們謙卑地請求祂赦免我們的罪時,神會接受我們的認罪,特別是當我們不能愛神如祂愛我們這麼深愛: 我們的神賜給我們祂的獨生子耶穌基督作為挽回祭——神的愛是犧牲的、替代的和無條件的愛——這是最大的愛,超出了我們能以同樣的方式愛祂的能力。當我們無法達到祂的最高標準時,願神拯救我們脫離祂的憤怒!阿門!
Jesus said the most important commandment is to love our God with all our hearts, with our soul, with all our mind, and with all our strength. And HE also said we need to love our neighbor as ourselves. God’s standard is the highest. We should try our best to obey and admit before God that we cannot reach such high standard. However we cannot use it as an excuse to justify our disobedience or not meeting His standard. God cannot be mocked but God would accept our confession when we humbly ask for forgiveness to our sins, especially we may not be able to love God as deep as He has been loving us. Our God gives us His son as the atoning sacrifice – His love is sacrificial, substitutional and unconditional love – the greatest love beyond our capacity to love Him back in the same way. May God save us from His wrath when we are not able to meet His highest standard! Amen!