Thursday, April 19, 2012

戒烟与孙子兵法

戒烟的过程是一个重生的过程,你必须对烟是死的,对新鲜空气是活的。 如果烟对你还是充满诱惑,需要等诱惑降低再启动戒烟,也就是说,戒烟的开始就是杀死烟瘾,并不断杀死的过程。戒烟要讲策略,孙子云:“古 之 所 谓 善 战 者, 胜 于 易 胜 者 也。”如果烟瘾还太大,就是敌强我弱,要等敌弱我强再开战。“是故胜兵先胜而后求战,败兵先战而后求胜。”不要随便开始戒烟期望能成功,要天时地利人和, 要做好思想工作。

戒烟是你和烟瘾(烟魔)的战争,没有做好防守,不要冒然进攻。 “孙子 曰 : 昔 之 善 战 者, 先 为 不 可 胜, 以 待 敌 之 可 胜。 不 可 胜 在 己, 可 胜 在 敌。”。要点是,善于打仗的都是先从自己入手,“先为不可胜”,先预备自己在烟瘾进攻的时候不被胜过 ,就是很好的防守,比如说不打牌到很晚,不喝酒到头晕,不为小事生气,这些和戒烟没有直接联系,但防守做不好,而烟瘾什么时候来你又不知道,所以一旦烟瘾 进攻你是没有胜算的。

Monday, November 28, 2011

Have a little Faith

In best-selling author Mitch Albom’s latest book, “Have a Little Faith,” he explores how a pastor and a rabbi practice their religions, fight for survival and answer life's puzzling questions. An excerpt.

My worry was wasted. The Reb made no such value judgments. “Our faith tells us to do charitable acts and to aid the poor in our community,” he said. “That is being righteous, no matter who you help.”

Soon we had tumbled into a most fundamental debate. How can different religions coexist? If one faith believes one thing, and another believes something else, how can they both be correct? And does one religion have the right — or even the obligation — to try to convert the other?

The Reb had been living with these issues all of his professional life. “In the early 1950s,” he recalled, “our congregation’s kids used to wrap their Jewish books in brown paper before they got on the bus. Remember, to many around here, we were the first Jewish people they had ever seen.”

Did that make for some strange moments?

He chuckled. “Oh, yes. I remember one time a congregant came to me all upset, because her son, the only Jewish boy in his class, had been cast in the school’s Christmas play. And they cast him as Jesus.

“So I went to the teacher. I explained the dilemma. And she said, ‘But that’s why we chose him, Rabbi. Because Jesus was a Jew!’ ”

I remembered similar incidents. In elementary school, I was left out of the big, colorful Christmas productions of “God Rest Ye Merry Gentlemen” or “Jingle Bells.” Instead, I had to join the school’s few other Jewish kids onstage, as we sang the Hanukah song, “Dreidel, Dreidel, Dreidel, I Made It Out of Clay.” We held hands and moved in a circle, imitating a spinning top. No props. No costumes. At the end of the song, we all fell down.

I swear I saw some gentile parents hiding their laughter.

Is there any winning a religious argument? Whose God is better than whose? Who got the Bible right or wrong? I preferred figures like Rajchandra, the Indian poet who influenced Gandhi by teaching that no religion was superior because they all brought people closer to God; or Gandhi himself, who would break a fast with Hindu prayers, Muslim quotations, or a Christian hymn.

Over the years, the Reb had lived his beliefs, but never tried to convert anyone to them. As a general rule, Judaism does not seek converts. In fact, the tradition is to first discourage them, emphasizing the difficulties and suffering the religion has endured.

This is not the case with all religions. Throughout history, countless millions have been slaughtered for failing to convert, to accept another god, or to denounce their own beliefs. Rabbi Akiva, the famous second-century scholar, was tortured to death by the Romans for refusing to give up his religious study. As they raked his flesh with iron combs, he whispered his final words on earth, “Hear, oh Israel, the Lord our God, the Lord is One.” He died with the word “one” on his lips.

That prayer — and the word “one” — were integral to the Reb’s beliefs. One, as in the singular God. One, as in the Lord’s creation, Adam.

“Ask yourself, ‘Why did God create but one man?’ ” the Reb said, wagging a finger. “Why, if he meant for there to be faiths bickering with each other, didn’t he create that from the start? He created trees, right? Not one tree, countless trees. Why not the same with man?

“Because we are all from that one man — and all from that one God. That’s the message.”

Then why, I asked, is the world so fractured?

“Well, you can look at it this way. Would you want the world to all look alike? No. The genius of life is its variety.

“Even in our own faith, we have questions and answers, interpretations, debates. In Christianity, in Catholicism, in other faiths, the same thing — debates, interpretations. That is the beauty. It’s like being a musician. If you found the note, and you kept hitting that note all the time, you would go nuts. It’s the blending of the different notes that makes the music.”

The music of what?

“Of believing in something bigger than yourself.”

But what if someone from another faith won’t recognize yours? Or wants you dead for it?

“That is not faith. That is hate.” He sighed. “And if you ask me, God sits up there and cries when that happens.”

He coughed, then, as if to reassure me, he smiled. He had full-time help at the house now; his home care workers had included a tall woman from Ghana and a burly Russian man. Now, on weekdays, there was a lovely Hindu woman from Trinidad named Teela. She helped get him dressed and do some light exercises in the morning, fixed his meals, and drove him to the supermarket and synagogue. Sometimes she would play Hindi religious music over her car stereo. The Reb enjoyed it and asked for a translation. When she talked about reincarnation, per her faith, he quizzed her and apologized for not knowing more about Hinduism over the years.

How can you — a cleric — be so open-minded? I asked.

“Look. I know what I believe. It’s in my soul. But I constantly tell our people: you should be convinced of the authenticity of what you have, but you must also be humble enough to say that we don’t know everything. And since we don’t know everything, we must accept that another person may believe something else.”

He sighed.

“I’m not being original here, Mitch. Most religions teach us to love our neighbor.”

I thought about how much I admired him at that moment. How he never, even in private, even in old age, tried to bully another belief, or bad-mouth someone else’s devotion. And I realized I had been a bit of a coward on this whole faith thing. I should have been more proud, less intimidated. I shouldn’t have bitten my tongue. If the only thing wrong with Moses is that he’s not yours; if the only thing wrong with Jesus is that he’s not yours; if the only thing wrong with mosques, Lent, chanting, Mecca, Buddha, confession, or reincarnation is that they’re not yours — well, maybe the problem is you.

One more question? I asked the Reb.

He nodded.

When someone from another faith says, “God bless you,” what do you say?

“I say, ‘Thank you, and God bless you, too.’ ”

Really?

“Why shouldn’t I?”

I went to answer and realized I had no answer. No answer at all.

Excerpt reprinted with permission from "Have a Little Faith" (Hyperion Publishing) by Mitch Albom

Faith and Christianity

Several thoughts:
1. Faith is about being righteous or to do the RIGHT things (not just doing good things, which may lead to self promotion and turn out to be just as wrong)
2. Faith is NOT about politics or legality: what is legal may not be right (gay marriage or abortion may be legal but it may not be right thing to do). Any attempt to ban immorality is bound to fail, as enforcing the law is next to impossible (think about the 8th Amendment and the utter failure of prohibition) Therefore, do not try to fix the broken immorality with tough law.
3. To tell right from wrong, we need to remember just one sentence: "Love your neighbors as yourself." Our neighbors do not just live next to us, they are anyone whom we encounter (like the good Samaritan meet the injured traveler who was a total stranger)
4. Nothing is more important than men: in Matthew 12:12, Jesus said: "How much more valuable is a man than a sheep! Therefore it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath."
5. The Gospel is for everyone who believes, including the tax collectors and prostitutes. Matthew 21:31: Jesus said to them, “I tell you the truth, the tax collectors and the prostitutes are entering the kingdom of God ahead of you. For John came to you to show you the way of righteousness, and you did not believe him, but the tax collectors and the prostitutes did. And even after you saw this, you did not repent and believe him. "

Monday, October 10, 2011

约翰福音2章再谈

约翰福音的每一章都充满了圣灵的启示与亮光。 周五的读经分享中,我们再读约翰2章。 对主耶稣变水为酒的第一个神迹,让我重新感受到一种光照。

这里的水预表死亡,酒预表生命。 特别的地方是这个水不是喝的水, 而是犹太人洁净的水。 一世纪的犹太人对宗教仪式的洁净非常注重,比如施洗约翰的门徒,和一个犹太人辩论的是洁净的礼。(约翰3章25节)。 所以才有后来路加福音11章37-41节的对话:“说话的时候,有一个法利赛人请耶稣同他吃饭,耶稣就进去坐席。这法利赛人看见耶稣饭前不先洗手,就希奇。主对他说,如今你们法利赛人洁净杯盘的外面,你们里面却满了勒索和邪恶。无知的人哪,那造外面的,不也造里面么?只要把里面的施舍给人,看哪,凡物于你们就都洁净了”。主耶稣来所要改变的第一个,就是要把犹太人对律法死板的理解和没有生命运作的实行挑战。 门徒们在主吩咐仆人把水缸倒满的时候,或许还期待主耶稣先行洁净的礼, 没想到主对宗教的仪式不感兴趣, 而是 直接吩咐仆人把水舀出来送给管宴席的人。

而使徒约翰之所以在这一章跟着记载主耶稣洁净圣殿, 也是因为犹太人已经把圣殿变成了“买卖的场所”, 从古至今,一切的宗教归根结底都是在做买卖, 你要这样或那样做,才能如何。 他们把神的恩典变成可供买卖的东西,为的是他们自己的利益(物质或精神)。 主耶稣还告诉他们,你们要看别的神迹没有意义,神迹并不能让人亲近神, 所以主耶稣并不因为有人信入祂的名就把自己交托给他们。 只有主的死而复活才是一个他们真正需要的神迹和真正的圣殿:就是祂以自己的身体为殿,三日之内重建起来。 因为眼前这个富丽堂皇的圣殿里没有神,而且从来没有过神。 司提反说“其实至高者并不住人手所造的,就如申言者所说 ‘主说,天是我的座位,地是我的脚凳,你们要为我造怎样的殿宇,那里是我安息的地方?这一切不都是我手所造的么?’” (使徒行传7:48-50) 保罗在亚略巴古传道时也说:“创造宇宙和其中万物的神,既是天地的主,就不住人手所造的殿。”。

因为主来不是洁净人的外面, 而是把“里面的施舍给人”, 祂所要做的, 乃是把神圣的生命赐给我们。主说:”这是那些日子以后,我要与他们所立的约:我要将我的律法赐在他们心里,并且将这些律法写在他们心思里。” (希伯来书10:16) 让我们这一班原本没有神的人,如今可以因为圣灵住在我们里面而成为神的儿女, 因为祂的美意本是如此。

Wednesday, May 4, 2011

a conversation between me and my left knee (from SI)

Me: I’m young! I’m fast! I’m …

Left knee: Have you lost your mind?

Me: What? I’m running.

Left knee: You are 44 years old. You cannot just start running sprints out of nowhere. Are you crazy?

Me: I don’t feel 44 years old. I still feel young.

Left knee: Trust me, you’re not young. Just look at the music on your iPod, man.

Me: What? I’ve got some hip-hop on there.

Left knee: Yeah … The Sugarhill Gang. Dude, I’m not even going to argue with you. Stop running. Go do what you do best … sit in a recliner, prop me up, and watch sports.

Me: No. I can still …

Left knee: OK, sorry pal, you’ve left me no choice. This is going to hurt you more than it’s going to hurt me.

Monday, March 28, 2011

读经亮光:”仍住了两天“

约翰福音11章讲到主耶稣听到祂“你所爱的人病了”, 没有立刻动身,而是"就在所居之地,仍住了两天。" 虽然"耶稣素来爱马大,和她妹妹,并拉撒路”, 可是这爱乃是出于人,是有限制的爱,是人心可以理解和想象的。 这是主出于人性的爱,是联于成为人的耶稣,如同主爱使徒约翰一样,但这种爱不是主来世上的目的。 因为“你们若爱那爱你们的人,有什么可酬谢的?因为连罪人也爱那爱他们的人。”(路加福音6:32)。 如果主不是仍住了两天,而是立刻动身,在门徒们看来,主耶稣就与常人没有区别,因为特别爱拉撒路。 可是主

而另一种爱是出于神的爱,远超我们的所思所想,因为“神为爱祂的人所预备的,是眼睛未曾看见,耳朵未曾听见,人心也未曾想到的。”(林前2:9) “惟有基督在我们还作罪人的时候,为我们死,神就在此将祂自己的爱向我们显明了。(罗马书5:8)。

Wednesday, March 9, 2011

寻找就寻见,求就给你们

我们求,若不是在信心中求,就常常灰心。 主说的求是如同这个寡妇一样的不断缠磨地求。 主的search不是找一下就好了,是re-search直到找到为止。

“耶稣又对他们讲一个比喻,是要人常常祷告,不可灰心,说,
某城里有一个审判官,不惧怕神,也不尊重人。
那城里有个寡妇,常到他那里,说,我有一个对头,求你给我伸冤。
他多时不肯,后来心里说,我虽不惧怕神,也不尊重人,
只因这寡妇常常搅扰我,我就给她伸冤罢,免得她不断来缠磨我。
主说,你们听这不义的审判官所说的。
神的选民昼夜呼吁祂,祂纵然为他们忍耐着,岂不终久给他们伸冤么?
我告诉你们,祂要快快的给他们伸冤了。然而,人子来的时候,在地上找得到信心么?

Monday, January 31, 2011

小将们的产生

“不要让青少年有判断力。只要给他们汽车摩托车明星、刺激的音乐、流行的服饰,以及
竞争意识就行了。剥夺青少年的思考力,根植他们服从指导者命令的服从心。让他们对
批判国家、社会和领袖抱着一种憎恶。让他们深信那是少数派和异端者的罪恶。让他们
认为想法和大家不同的就是公敌。”

——阿道夫·希特勒

Mottos for Boys

"Live Faithfully, Fight Bravely, and Die Laughing!"

"We were born to die for Germany!"

"You are nothing–your Volk is everything!"

Monday, January 24, 2011

压岁钱的原则

昨天和一位很年轻的朋友聊天,说的他的学费都由他父母出,不过要记在账上,加上3%的利息。 我正想问你打算多久还清,他又告诉我他已经开始还了,是用他投资在他父母的工厂的收益还。 我很好奇,就问:“你投资的本金又出哪里来呢?”
“我的压岁钱呀。”

我从来没有留过压岁钱,每次收到都把“赃款”自动上缴,因为客人都是当着爸妈的面给的。 可我们每一个人每一天又都在收“压岁钱”,这可不是工资或工价,完全是我们并不配得的,是一种从神来的“grace” (恩典)。正如没有一个孩子的压岁钱是和他们一年的行为完全相关,若你姓希尔顿“Hilton”,又在巴黎出生,一次的压岁钱就相当于我们大家一辈子的积蓄。 只是我们常常忘记我们的天分,或者我们的健康,以及我们的家庭,都是神给我们的压岁钱。 祂给我们不是我们当得,而是如同父母先爱了我们,祂也是这样先爱了我们。

我们得了这么多,也就要给的多,使我们的行事为人与这样的爱相配。“她许多的罪都赦免了,因为她爱得多;但那赦免少的,他爱得就少。” (路加福音7:47) 因为“诸天的国又好比一个人要往外国去,就叫了自己的奴仆来,把他的家业交给他们按照各人的才干,个别的给了一个五他连得银子,一个二他连得,一个一他连得,就往外国去了。... 就当把我的银子放给兑换银钱的人,到我来的时候,可以连本带利收回” (马太福音25章)

因着我们所得的压岁钱并不是我们当得的,我们也要活着如同一个“欠债的人” (罗马书1:14),也知道如同主常常赦免我们的罪,我们也当学会赦免我们的弟兄 (因你央求我,我就把你一切所欠的都免了;你岂不应当怜悯和你同作奴仆的,像我怜悯你么。”(马太福音18:33)

在这个压岁钱的原则里,我们就不再自夸,因为都是神的怜悯,“使你与人不同的是谁?你有什么不是领受的?若真是领受的,你为什么夸口,仿佛不是领受的?” (哥林多前书4:6)。 也能够学会怜悯别人,不再自义如法利赛人,因为他们虽献上足够的祭物,“那正义和爱神的事却忽略了。” (路加福音11:42)

愿我们既做那恩典的承受者,也做一个精明的仆人,能把从主领受的加倍偿还给身边需要的人。

新单词 Sycophant

sycophant: A servile self-seeker who attempts to win favor by flattering influential
people.

趋炎附势者

Saturday, November 27, 2010

读经亮光:神迹还是信心?

“这世代是个邪恶的世代。它寻求神迹,除了约拿的神迹以外,再没有神迹给它” (路加福音11:29)

1. 十二篮:主为什么在五饼二鱼食饱5千人以后留12篮?我们都知道是给他的12个门徒留的。若只是如此,主耶稣就仅仅展示了祂的丰富。但主永远不会只是为着神迹而行神迹,是要叫他们知道,主是有预备的,12篮是要加添他们的信心。 “你们要给人,就必有给你们的,用十足的量器,连摇带按,上尖下流的倒在你们怀里。” (路加福音6:38)

2. ”你不可告诉人” 与“你的信心救了你”: 在福音书里,当主耶稣医治人以后,常常会说这两句话。仔细读过我们就会发现,凡不是出于信心的医治都是主“动了慈心”,但主“知道人里面的是什么”,所以祂不需要神迹的见证,而是信心的见证。当我们为主为真理做见证的时候,“若不是出于信心的就要切记“不可告诉人”,因为我们的见证还在罪中。主实在不希望我们眼中只看到一个又一个的神迹奇事,而是认识到祂是谁,认识到“这是主”(It is the Lord)。 正如约翰福音所记:“当耶稣在耶路撒冷过逾越节的时候,有许多人看见祂所行的神迹,就信入祂的名。耶稣却不将自己信托他们,因为祂知道每一个人。也用不着谁见证人怎样,因祂知道在人里面的是什么。”(约翰福音2:23-25)

不是出于信心的神迹:
(1)睚鲁的女儿:“耶稣嘱咐他们,不要把所发生的事告诉人。” 因为“他们明知她已经死了,就嗤笑耶稣。” 他们把主耶稣当作一个医生而已,医生可以救还没死的人,救不了已经死了的。
(2)满身患痲疯的人:主医治他的麻风病是因为他面伏于地,求主说,”主阿,你若肯,必能叫我洁净了。” 他还没有信心主肯不肯,主对他的医治就只是洁净他的疾病而已,“你不可告诉人”。
(3)毕士大的瘫子:瘫痪了38年得医治,却不是因为有信心,而是主的怜悯。“看哪,你已经痊愈了,不要再犯罪,恐怕你遭遇的更加厉害。”

出于信心和认识主是神的儿子的神迹
(1)相比之下,患12年血漏的女人,凭着信心摸主的衣坠就得了医治,主还专门从拥挤的人群中把她找出来,说“女儿,你的信救了你,平平安安的走罢!”
(2)对另一位两次被主赶出鬼的,因为他认识主是谁,主耶稣甚至说:“你回家去,述说神为你作了何等大的事。”,因为这位被鬼附过身的喊过“至高神的儿子耶稣,我与你何干?求你不要叫我受苦。”

Wednesday, October 20, 2010

Homer Simpson's Quotes

Operator! Give me the number for 911!

Bart, with $10,000, we'd be millionaires! We could buy all kinds of useful things like...love!

I'm normally not a praying man, but if you're up there, please save me Superman.

Son, if you really want something in this life, you have to work for it. Now quiet! They're about to announce the lottery numbers.

Well, it's 1 a.m. Better go home and spend some quality time with the kids.

Maybe, just once, someone will call me 'Sir' without adding, 'You're making a scene.'

Marge, don't discourage the boy! Weaseling out of things is important to learn. It's what separates us from the animals! Except the weasel.

You know, boys, a nuclear reactor is a lot like a woman. You just have to read the manual and press the right buttons.

Lisa, if you don't like your job you don't strike. You just go in every day and do it really half-assed. That's the American way.

Son, when you participate in sporting events, it's not whether you win or lose: it's how drunk you get.

I'm going to the back seat of my car, with the woman I love, and I won't be back for ten minutes!

[Meeting Aliens] Please don't eat me! I have a wife and kids. Eat them!

What do we need a psychiatrist for? We know our kid is nuts.

Kids, you tried your best and you failed miserably. The lesson is, never try.

When I look at the smiles on all the children's faces, I just know they're about to jab me with something.

I'm not a bad guy! I work hard, and I love my kids. So why should I spend half my Sunday hearing about how I'm going to Hell?

Getting out of jury duty is easy. The trick is to say you're prejudiced against all races.

It's not easy to juggle a pregnant wife and a troubled child, but somehow I managed to fit in eight hours of TV a day.

I want to share something with you: The three little sentences that will get you through life. Number 1: Cover for me. Number 2: Oh, good idea, Boss! Number 3: It was like that when I got here.

Oh, people can come up with statistics to prove anything, Kent. 14% of people know that.

How is education supposed to make me feel smarter? Besides, every time I learn something new, it pushes some old stuff out of my brain. Remember when I took that home winemaking course, and I forgot how to drive?

Television! Teacher, mother, secret lover.

If something goes wrong at the plant, blame the guy who can't speak English.

I like my beer cold, my TV loud and my homosexuals flaming.

[Looking at a globe map...country being Uruguay]
Hee hee! Look at this country! 'You-are-gay.'

Dad, you've done a lot of great things, but you're a very old man, and old people are useless.

But Marge, what if we chose the wrong religion? Each week we just make God madder and madder.

I think Smithers picked me because of my motivational skills. Everyone says they have to work a lot harder when I'm around.

That's it! You people have stood in my way long enough. I'm going to clown college!

Beer: The cause of, and solution to, all of life's problems.

If something's hard to do, then it's not worth doing

I'm in no condition to drive...wait! I shouldn't listen to myself, I'm drunk!

'To Start Press Any Key'. Where's the ANY key?

Monday, October 4, 2010

婚姻的纳什均衡1

婚姻里面没有谁赢谁输,只有双赢或者双输。 (anonymous)

纳什均衡就是这样的一个点,博弈双方都会因为偏离该点而损失,最佳的选择是停留在这一点上。 这一点并不一定存在,特别是当信息不透明或者不平衡的时候。

因为婚姻的博弈不是一次性的,所以除了双方都要考虑下一次的结果。 而信息的透明或分享就能增加进入纳什均衡,减少博弈的双输可能性。

当然博弈的前提是博弈者是理性的,这个前提有可能无法实现,均衡就无从谈起。

Wednesday, September 15, 2010

My favorite Lincoln's Quotes

God and Religion
1. Sir, my concern is not whether God is on our side; my greatest concern is to be on God's side, for God is always right.

2. In great contests each party claims to act in accordance with the will of God. Both may be, and one must be wrong.

3. When I do good, I feel good. When I do bad, I feel bad. That's my religion.

4. Surely God would not have created such a being as man, with an ability to grasp the infinite, to exist only for a day! No, no, man was made for immortality.

5. With Malice toward none, with charity for all, with firmness in the right, as God gives us to see the right, let us strive on to finish the work we are in, to bind up the nation's wounds.

6. There is nothing true anywhere, The true is nowhere to be seen; If you say you see the true, This seeing is not the true one.

7. I am not bound to win, but I am bound to be true. I am not bound to succeed, but I am bound to live by the light that I have. I must stand with anybody that stands right, and stand with him while he is right, and part with him when he goes wrong.

Life and Man
1. Common looking people are the best in the world: that is the reason the Lord makes so many of them.

2. Give me six hours to chop down a tree and I will spend the first four sharpening the axe.

3. I do not think much of a man who is not wiser today than he was yesterday.

4. I don't know who my grandfather was; I am much more concerned to know what his grandson will be.

5. I have always found that mercy bears richer fruits than strict justice.

6. Important principles may, and must, be inflexible.

7. It has been my experience that folks who have no vices have very few virtues.

8. It is better to remain silent and be thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt.

9. Nearly all men can stand adversity, but if you want to test a man's character, give him power.

10. People are just as happy as they make up their minds to be.

11. The best thing about the future is that it comes one day at a time.

12. The best way to destroy an enemy is to make him a friend.

13. We should be too big to take offense and too noble to give it.

14. You can fool all the people some of the time, and some of the people all the time, but you cannot fool all the people all the time.

Saturday, September 11, 2010

“与你何干” 和“这又何妨”

与你何干(what is that to you)
主耶稣在地上对彼得说的最后一句话:“我若要留他直到我来的时候,与你何干?你跟从我罢。”
我们的难处就是眼睛总是看着别人,象彼得一样问 “主啊,这人将来如何?”, 其实我们只要关心一件事就好,"You must follow me."
主的话很直接很难听,却是彼得需要的。彼得就像我们一样,除了三次说“主啊,我爱你”以外,还要加上一条潜在的台词,“我比你更爱主”,因为“即使众人因你绊跌,我总不绊跌." (马太26:33)。然而“神总是真实的,人都是虚谎的。” (罗3:4)若不能认识我们的局限性,我们就会在比来比去中失去神的真实,而被人的虚谎所蒙蔽。

这又何妨 (what does it matter?)
保罗的一生的喜乐有一个秘诀,就是“这又何妨”。 有没有不信主不爱主的,肯定有,只是福音本是“神的大能”,不是“出于人的意思”(加1:11)(from man),也不是“借着人” (by man), “ 即便有不信的,这有何妨?难道他们的不信,就废掉神的信么?” (罗马书3:3)。
有没有借着主的名行不法之事的,当然有,只是轮不到我们去审判,“人哪,每一个审判人的!你是无法推诿的,你在什么事上审判人,就在什么事上定自己的罪。”(罗2:1), 就算是出于假意,不是出于真诚,“这有何妨?无论怎样,基督究竟被传开了。” (腓利比1:18)

读经偶拾

“门徒被称为基督徒是从安提阿起首”(使徒行传11:26)

这里的“被称为”,说明了基督徒不是自封的,也不能要求别人去称呼你,实在是要有一种光,能够被人看见,因为“你们是世上的光。城立在山上,是不能隐藏的。”(马太福音5:14)很多基督徒是号称的,主当然知道,因为如果能够隐藏,不能说众人看不见,是瞎眼的,只能说明一件事,就是你还没有光。“善行也有显明的;就是那些不显明的,也不能隐藏。”(提前5:25)

主说:“你们若彼此相爱,众人因此就认出你们是我的门徒了。”(约翰福音13:35),我们相信安提阿的教会是一个彼此相爱的教会,也许没有耶路撒冷教会的规模和地位,但门徒们却在这里被认出来是基督徒,而不再是被当作犹太教的一个分支。 行传里的吕底亚在受浸以后对保罗说:“你们若断定我对主是忠信的,就请到我家里来住。”(使徒行传16:15) 吕底亚没有自称是对主忠信的,她需要保罗和他的同工们来断定。 我们何等需要这样的谦卑,这样对着主的态度。

电影“末代皇帝”里,少年溥仪和他的英国老师RJ有一段对话,溥仪问“Are you a gentleman? ", RJ回答说:“I would like to be a gentleman, Your Majesty, I try to be.” 真正的gentleman当然不会自封,只能不断地努力,期望能每天有一些进步,离gentleman近一点。愿我们这些主的门徒能“忘记背后,努力面前,向着标杆直跑”,活出我们主光的见证!

Wednesday, September 8, 2010

敬畏神是智慧的开端

人的智慧开启起源于认识到自己的渺小和不足(Knowing how small we are is the beginning of wisdom), 什么时候我们自大了,感觉富足了,什么时候我们就失去了智慧,就进入属灵的黑暗。

主说,“灵里贫穷的人有福了,因为诸天的国是他们的。” (马太福音5:3),“祂的怜悯归与敬畏祂的人,直到世世代代。 祂用膀臂施展权能,驱散那些心里妄想的狂傲人。祂叫有权柄的失位,叫卑微的升高。叫饥饿的得饱美物,叫富足的空着回去。(路加福音1:50-53)

但我们个人的渺小没有关系,因为 “神若帮助我们,谁能抵挡我们?”(罗马书8:31)

Saturday, August 28, 2010

When I say I am a Christian by Carol Wimmer

当我说我是基督徒时

When I say..."I am a Christian"  当我说我是基督徒时
I'm not shouting "I am saved" 我并不是在叫喊着「我是得救的」
I'm whispering "I get lost!"     而是在低声的说「我曾经迷失过,
"That is why I chose this way.""  所以我选择了这条路」

When I say..."I am a Christian"   当我说我是基督徒时,
I don't speak of this with pride. 并不是因为我觉得比你高一等
I'm confessing that I stumble 而是承认我一直在蹒跚而行
and need someone to be my guide. 所以我需要一位生命中的向导

When I say..."I am a Christian" 当我说我是基督徒时
I'm not trying to be strong. 我并不是在显示自己很强壮
I'm professing that I'm weak 而是在承认自己的软弱
and pray for strength to carryon. 并祈祷寻求继续前进的力量

When I say..."I am a Christian" 当我说我是基督徒时
I'm not bragging of success. 我并不是在吹嘘我的成功
I'm admitting I have failed 而是在承认自己的失败
and cannot ever pay the debt. 并且没有能力偿还所背负的债

When I say..."I am a Christian" 当我说我是基督徒时
I'm not claiming to be perfect, 我并不是在自我宣称我是完美的
my flaws are too visible 而是让你看到我生命中的瑕疵是这么的明显
but God believes I'm worth it. 但主相信我是有价值的

When I say..."I am a Christian" 当我说我是基督徒时
I still feel the sting of pain 我还是会感到痛如针剌
I have my share of heartaches  但我有主来分担我的心痛
which is why I seek His name. 所以我会继续寻求祂的名

When I say..."I am a Christian" 当我说我是基督徒时
I do not wish to judge. 我并不是在评价你
I have no authority. 因为我没有那样的权柄
I only know I'm loved. 我只知道我是被爱着的。

Thursday, July 22, 2010

Tuesday, March 2, 2010

It Is How Much You Overcome

Tiger Woods 在新闻发布会上为他的过犯道歉时引用了一句话:“It is not how much you achieved that matters, it is how much you overcome." 我觉得如果他真这么相信,他的悔改就有希望了。
世界上的人如何评价一个人,常常是看他/她所成就的,有多少财产,拿过多少冠军,是不是总统或部长。 神来看我们,则不一样。祂看我们是不是fight a good fight (提后4:7 那美好的仗我已经打过了,当 跑的赛程我已经跑尽了,当 守的信仰我已经守住了),是不是good and faithful servant ,每个人既有不同的天分(一个,五个,十个他连得),也就有不同的托付(马太25:27 到我来的时候,可以连本带利 收回。)
路遥的小说“平凡的人生”中,孙少平从一个吃丙种饭的农村学生,最后成为一名煤矿工人。就成就而言,实在是说不出什么。但他所经历和战胜的困难,却让他在金秀眼中比很多大学生更有吸引力。
主耶稣在地上的三十三年,以马槽的出生开始,紧接着就是全家向埃及的逃亡;祂还没有传福音时,施洗约翰就已经下了监。祂在加百农治病救人,却被赶出城去。祂被自己的门徒出卖,被犹太人和罗马人钉死在十字架上。但这一切祂都战胜了,祂向我们彰显的是一个道成肉身的基督,如何overcome every odds in life, even the death on the cross。 我们信耶稣是基督就在于此。