Thursday, September 27, 2012

DAY 171 - Don't Play God! (請按此處收聼廣東話Cantonese podcast click here)


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The easiest way is to take one hour slot for the whole week. What you need to do is very simple. Choose one dayThe easiest way is to take one hour slot for the whole week to pray for me, my family and my ministry, remembering the ministry of ACiC(ACiC has two Networks: ACiC, Anglican Coalition in Canada and AI, Asian Initiative). You may use the whole hour in prayer or you can still do you work in your office but use as much time as you can to pray and the other time work prayerfully that hour to pray for our ministry. This campaign is also to teach you that you need somebody to pray for you daily. I have been prayed for hourly the past 1,100 days and I have never experienced this kind of peace and protection before. It's just beyond words can express. If I did not listen and obey to Jesus call 1,100 days ago to start this prayer movement, I think I would be pulled into darkness and discouragement already! I deeply believe that this is a way to draw as many participation as we can in prayers. I encourage you to participate. We need you to join us! Trust in the power of prayers!

Today's Reading: Matthew 7: 1-6

**For a simple and good way of Daily Devotion method please click this link: Subject Shifting Devotion.pdf.
Please click this link to read Matthew 7: 1-6

Bible Study

This passage tells us how we as human beings always have a tendency to play God, always to be so judgmental to the others. 

N.T. Wright says:

Jesus warns against all such 'judgment'.  He doesn't mean that we shouldn't have high standards of behaviour for ourselves and our world, but that the temptation to look down on each other for moral failures is itself a temptation to play God.  And, since we aren't God that means it's a temptation to play a part, to act, to be a 'hypocrite' (which literally means a play-actor, one who wears a mask as a disguise)...
Jesus is warning that the very people who seem most eager to tell others what to do (or more likely what not to do) are the people who should take a long look in the mirror before they begin.
What then about the dogs, the pigs and the pearls?  Doesn't this imply that Jesus' followers are to make quite a serious judgment - namely that some people come into these categories, so should not be given holy or precious things?
'Dogs' was after all a regular abusive term for Gentiles; pigs were kept only by Gentiles, since Jews didn't eat pork.  He seems to be warning his followers not to try to explain the meaning and life of the kingdom to people who won't even understand the Jewish world within which it makes sense. 

That's from N.T. Wright again helping you to understand more about this passage. Do you think you are like most people always playing God's role to be so judgmental?  If so, today Jesus tells you to stop playing God and stop to be a hypocrite! 

Let's have a time to be still and give the Holy Spirit space to speak through the passage of scripture we have just read. Offer this time up to Jesus as you listen to him, while listening to "Gabriel's Oboe"



Spiritual Journal

What I heard from Jesus today is: Don't play God!

Jesus reminds me of Genesis 1 today. When God created the universe there is a very important description about His creation: He saw that it was good.
And when He created man, in verse 31: God saw all that he had made, and it was very good.

How come when we as human beings so often reverse God's way of looking at things, always seeing people and things as bad, very bad? What king of kingdom are we living in? What kind of kingdom value have we been living up to? That's how Satan and his dark angels have been doing, even see themselves better than God? That's how Satan teaches the world to follow his standard to see everything as bad, very bad! That's the reason of so many husbands and wives live in arguments everyday and lots of them have to end their marriage and divorce.  That's why there are so many problems in families, churches and everywhere!

Remember, when you see so many people and things as bad and to be always so judgmental you are not only playing God, not only a hypocrite, you are away from God's image, away from being Christlike but Satan-like!

No one is perfect! If you see someone's life only got 45 marks, appreciate that 45 marks he or she has got and help him or her to have the passing mark of 50.  If you see someone's life got 85, don't criticize the 15 marks he or she does not have but to give thanks to God for the 85 he or she has got.

Remember, no one is perfect, only God! Don't play God anymore!  

Dear Lord Jesus,
Help us not to follow Satan's footstep to play God. Lead us to follow you in the path of goodness and can see every people and everything as good. In Jesus name we pray. Amen.


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