約翰福音6: 16-24

 

6:16 到了晚上，他的門徒下海邊去，
6:17 上了船，要過海往迦百農去。天已經黑了，耶穌還沒有來到他們那裡。
6:18 忽然狂風大作，海就翻騰起來。
6:19 門徒搖櫓，約行了十里多路，看見耶穌在海面上走，漸漸近了船，他們就害怕。
6:20 耶穌對他們說：「是我，不要怕！」
6:21 門徒就喜歡接他上船，船立時到了他們所要去的地方。
6:22 第二日，站在海那邊的眾人知道那裡沒有別的船，只有一隻小船，又知道耶穌沒有同他的門徒上船，乃是門徒自己去的。
6:23 然而，有幾隻小船從提比哩亞來，靠近主祝謝後分餅給人吃的地方。
6:24 眾人見耶穌和門徒都不在那裡，就上了船，往迦百農去找耶穌。

 

¹⁶ When evening came, his disciples went down to the lake, ¹⁷ where they got into a boat and set off across the lake for Capernaum. By now it was dark, and Jesus had not yet joined them. ¹⁸ A strong wind was blowing and the waters grew rough. ¹⁹ When they had rowed about three or four miles,^[b] they saw Jesus approaching the boat, walking on the water; and they were frightened. ²⁰ But he said to them, “It is I; don’t be afraid.” ²¹ Then they were willing to take him into the boat, and immediately the boat reached the shore where they were heading.

²² The next day the crowd that had stayed on the opposite shore of the lake realized that only one boat had been there, and that Jesus had not entered it with his disciples, but that they had gone away alone. ²³ Then some boats from Tiberias landed near the place where the people had eaten the bread after the Lord had given thanks. ²⁴ Once the crowd realized that neither Jesus nor his disciples were there, they got into the boats and went to Capernaum in search of Jesus.

 

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    主耶穌行在水面上，這個水面不是一般的水面，是暴風雨水面上，而且是一群門徒看見！表示主耶穌行神蹟不是幻術，而是真實的展現！因為主耶穌是全能真神，是勝過自然界的限制的上帝。

 

    這兩年來COVID-19疫情肆虐全球，威脅多少人的生活和健康，也使許多人喪命！然而主耶穌的大能必定勝過這瘟疫，我們相信上帝肯讓這瘟疫過去，因為主耶穌與我們同在，他要對我們說：「是我，不要怕！」

 

    主的同在是我們最大的勇氣，是的！主說：「是我，不要怕！」

 

 

 

 

 

 

約翰福音6: 1-15

 

6:1 這事以後，耶穌渡過加利利海，就是提比哩亞海。
6:2 有許多人因為看見他在病人身上所行的神蹟，就跟隨他。
6:3 耶穌上了山，和門徒一同坐在那裡。
6:4 那時猶太人的逾越節近了。
6:5 耶穌舉目看見許多人來，就對腓力說：「我們從哪裡買餅叫這些人吃呢？」
6:6 （他說這話是要試驗腓力；他自己原知道要怎樣行。）
6:7 腓力回答說：「就是二十兩銀子的餅，叫他們各人吃一點也是不夠的。」
6:8 有一個門徒，就是西門•彼得的兄弟安得烈，對耶穌說：
6:9 「在這裡有一個孩童，帶著五個大麥餅、兩條魚，只是分給這許多人還算甚麼呢？」
6:10 耶穌說：「你們叫眾人坐下。」原來那地方的草多，眾人就坐下，數目約有五千。
6:11 耶穌拿起餅來，祝謝了，就分給那坐著的人；分魚也是這樣，都隨著他們所要的。
6:12 他們吃飽了，耶穌對門徒說：「把剩下的零碎收拾起來，免得有糟蹋的。」
6:13 他們便將那五個大麥餅的零碎，就是眾人吃了剩下的，收拾起來，裝滿了十二個籃子。
6:14 眾人看見耶穌所行的神蹟，就說：「這真是那要到世間來的先知！」
6:15 耶穌既知道眾人要來強逼他作王，就獨自又退到山上去了。

 

Some time after this, Jesus crossed to the far shore of the Sea of Galilee (that is, the Sea of Tiberias), ² and a great crowd of people followed him because they saw the signs he had performed by healing the sick. ³ Then Jesus went up on a mountainside and sat down with his disciples. ⁴ The Jewish Passover Festival was near.

⁵ When Jesus looked up and saw a great crowd coming toward him, he said to Philip, “Where shall we buy bread for these people to eat?” ⁶ He asked this only to test him, for he already had in mind what he was going to do.

⁷ Philip answered him, “It would take more than half a year’s wages^[a] to buy enough bread for each one to have a bite!”

⁸ Another of his disciples, Andrew, Simon Peter’s brother, spoke up, ⁹ “Here is a boy with five small barley loaves and two small fish, but how far will they go among so many?”

¹⁰ Jesus said, “Have the people sit down.” There was plenty of grass in that place, and they sat down (about five thousand men were there). ¹¹ Jesus then took the loaves, gave thanks, and distributed to those who were seated as much as they wanted. He did the same with the fish.

¹² When they had all had enough to eat, he said to his disciples, “Gather the pieces that are left over. Let nothing be wasted.” ¹³ So they gathered them and filled twelve baskets with the pieces of the five barley loaves left over by those who had eaten.

¹⁴ After the people saw the sign Jesus performed, they began to say, “Surely this is the Prophet who is to come into the world.” ¹⁵ Jesus, knowing that they intended to come and make him king by force, withdrew again to a mountain by himself.

 

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    主耶穌用五個大麥餅和兩條魚，分給五千人吃，剩下的零碎收拾起來，裝滿了十二個籃子。

 

    在人看來是非常神奇的事情，但是對於全能的上帝，這是祂可以做的事情，是沒有甚麼困難。然而主耶穌仍然是要透過這事，讓人來認識祂是全能的上帝，雖然祂取了人身與人同住，祂仍然是上帝！

 

    在人的觀念中，認為上帝是不可見的，是極其威嚴的，甚至事不關心人發生甚麼事情。然而主耶穌願意以人的樣式，在人的中間行神蹟，來提醒人祂是全能的上帝，是滿有恩典與憐憫的上帝！

 

    你有將主耶穌當成完全的上帝嗎？雖然祂以完全的人之方式在人的面前。也因為祂是完全的上帝，在十字架上為我們的罪而犧牲，展顯人無法想像的大能，將魔鬼和牠的工作徹底敗壞，救人脫離魔鬼的權勢進入永生，成就永遠的功效！

 

    因此，「五餅二魚的神蹟」顯明耶穌基督就是全能上帝！

 

 

 

 

歷代志下14章

    歷代志下14:1-15 ,

歷代志下14:1-15

 

14:1 亞比雅與他列祖同睡，葬在大衛城裡。他兒子亞撒接續他作王。亞撒年間，國中太平十年。
14:2 亞撒行耶和華─他上帝眼中看為善為正的事，
14:3 除掉外邦神的壇和邱壇，打碎柱像，砍下木偶，
14:4 吩咐猶大人尋求耶和華─他們列祖的上帝，遵行他的律法、誡命；
14:5 又在猶大各城邑除掉邱壇和日像，那時國享太平；
14:6 又在猶大建造了幾座堅固城。國中太平數年，沒有戰爭，因為耶和華賜他平安。
14:7 他對猶大人說：「我們要建造這些城邑，四圍築牆，蓋樓，安門，做閂；地還屬我們，是因尋求耶和華─我們的上帝；我們既尋求他，他就賜我們四境平安。」於是建造城邑，諸事亨通。
14:8 亞撒的軍兵，出自猶大拿盾牌拿槍的三十萬人；出自便雅憫拿盾牌拉弓的二十八萬人。這都是大能的勇士。
14:9 有古實王謝拉率領軍兵一百萬，戰車三百輛，出來攻擊猶大人，到了瑪利沙。
14:10 於是亞撒出去與他迎敵，就在瑪利沙的洗法谷彼此擺陣。
14:11 亞撒呼求耶和華─他的上帝說：「耶和華啊，惟有你能幫助軟弱的，勝過強盛的。耶和華─我們的上帝啊，求你幫助我們；因為我們仰賴你，奉你的名來攻擊這大軍。耶和華啊，你是我們的上帝，不要容人勝過你。」
14:12 於是耶和華使古實人敗在亞撒和猶大人面前，古實人就逃跑了；
14:13 亞撒和跟隨他的軍兵追趕他們，直到基拉耳。古實人被殺的甚多，不能再強盛，因為敗在耶和華與他軍兵面前。猶大人就奪了許多財物，
14:14 又打破基拉耳四圍的城邑；耶和華使其中的人都甚恐懼。猶大人又將所有的城擄掠一空，因其中的財物甚多，
14:15 又毀壞了群畜的圈，奪取許多的羊和駱駝，就回耶路撒冷去了。

 

And Abijah rested with his ancestors and was buried in the City of David. Asa his son succeeded him as king, and in his days the country was at peace for ten years.

² Asa did what was good and right in the eyes of the Lord his God. ³ He removed the foreign altars and the high places, smashed the sacred stones and cut down the Asherah poles.^{[b] 4} He commanded Judah to seek the Lord, the God of their ancestors, and to obey his laws and commands. ⁵ He removed the high places and incense altars in every town in Judah, and the kingdom was at peace under him. ⁶ He built up the fortified cities of Judah, since the land was at peace. No one was at war with him during those years, for the Lord gave him rest.

⁷ “Let us build up these towns,” he said to Judah, “and put walls around them, with towers, gates and bars. The land is still ours, because we have sought the Lord our God; we sought him and he has given us rest on every side.” So they built and prospered.

⁸ Asa had an army of three hundred thousand men from Judah, equipped with large shields and with spears, and two hundred and eighty thousand from Benjamin, armed with small shields and with bows. All these were brave fighting men.

⁹ Zerah the Cushite marched out against them with an army of thousands upon thousands and three hundred chariots, and came as far as Mareshah. ¹⁰ Asa went out to meet him, and they took up battle positions in the Valley of Zephathah near Mareshah.

¹¹ Then Asa called to the Lord his God and said, “Lord, there is no one like you to help the powerless against the mighty. Help us, Lord our God, for we rely on you, and in your name we have come against this vast army. Lord, you are our God; do not let mere mortals prevail against you.”

¹² The Lord struck down the Cushites before Asa and Judah. The Cushites fled, ¹³ and Asa and his army pursued them as far as Gerar. Such a great number of Cushites fell that they could not recover; they were crushed before the Lord and his forces. The men of Judah carried off a large amount of plunder. ¹⁴ They destroyed all the villages around Gerar, for the terror of the Lord had fallen on them. They looted all these villages, since there was much plunder there. ¹⁵ They also attacked the camps of the herders and carried off droves of sheep and goats and camels. Then they returned to Jerusalem.

 

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    亞比雅敬畏上帝，接續的王亞撒也是敬畏上帝的王，於是國中太平十年，表示沒有外來的敵軍，內部也安定！也因為這樣國家慢慢得著建設，而日漸強甚。在信仰上他也除去邱壇和日像，使人民專心仰望上帝！

 

    所以他宣告說：「我們要建造這些城邑，四圍築牆，蓋樓，安門，做閂；地還屬我們，是因尋求耶和華─我們的上帝；我們既尋求他，他就賜我們四境平安。」

 

    雖然後來有古實王謝拉率領軍兵一百萬，戰車三百輛，出來攻擊猶大人。他也不懼怕，他向上帝禱告：「耶和華啊，惟有你能幫助軟弱的，勝過強盛的。耶和華─我們的上帝啊，求你幫助我們；因為我們仰賴你，奉你的名來攻擊這大軍。耶和華啊，你是我們的上帝，不要容人勝過你。」

 

    也因為這樣，他堅心倚賴上帝，上帝也讓他勝過古實大軍！讓我們看見得勝不在兵強馬壯，而是在於有上帝的同在！

 

    同樣，在我們的人生面對各樣的磨難，也要用這樣的精神來面對，求上帝給我們智慧和勇氣來面對與解決，正如所羅門王的《箴言》所說：「你要專心仰賴耶和華，不可倚靠自己的聰明，在你一切所行的事上都要認定他，他必指引你的路。不要自以為有智慧；要敬畏耶和華，遠離惡事。這便醫治你的肚臍，滋潤你的百骨。你要以財物和一切初熟的土產尊榮耶和華。這樣，你的倉房必充滿有餘；你的酒醡有新酒盈溢。」(3:5-10)

 

    不要為眼前的困境躊躇不前，上帝必定讓你躍過的！正如現今的Covid-19的疫情雖然造成我們壓力，我們只要勇敢面對，倚靠上帝的同在，努力向前，就必然可以度過的！