Quick, while there's still time - an OmgziVersion

約翰福音 9:4

John 9:4

趁着白日，我们必须做那差我来者的工；黑夜将到，就没有人能做工了。

和合本 (CUV)

I must work the works of Him who sent Me while it is day; the night is coming when no one can work.

New King James Version (NKJV)

趁着天还亮，我们快点完成老板吩咐的工作，不然天一黑，就做不到工了。

OmgziVersion

白天的时间有限，人生也是有限。基督徒应该珍惜光阴、 把握时机，赶紧完成神吩咐我们的工 ( Matthew 28:19-20 ; Mark 16:15 ; John 20:21 )。要不然时间没了、气息没了、机会没了、世界末了，什么都不能做了。也意味着基督徒要认真、着紧神吩咐我们的工作，也不要费时在费人费事，或世界的事 ( Ephesians 5:16 )。

Bible Translation : The Emergence of Neo-fundamentalism

Source :
Jeffery Khoo, 2004, The Emergence of Neo-Fundamentalism : One Bible Only ? OR "Yea Hath God Said?", in The Burning Bush Volume10 No1           http://www.febc.edu.sg/VPP7.htm

工作多工人少 The Workers Are Few

马太福音9:35 – 10:1	Matthew 9:35 – 10:1
耶稣走遍各个城镇乡村，在他们的会堂里教导人，传天国的福音，并且使各样的疾病和各样的症状痊愈。	Jesus went through all the towns and villages, teaching in their synagogues, proclaiming the good news of the kingdom and healing every disease and sickness.
耶稣看见众人，就对他们动了怜悯之心，因为他们困苦流离，像羊没有牧人那样。	When he saw the crowds, he had compassion on them, because they were harassed and helpless, like sheep without a shepherd.
于是他对自己的门徒们说：“收割的工作多，而工人少。所以你们要祈求收割的主催促工人参与他的收割工作。”	Then he said to his disciples, “The harvest is plentiful but the workers are few. Ask the Lord of the harvest, therefore, to send out workers into his harvest field.”
耶稣召来他的十二个门徒，赐给他们权柄，能驱赶污灵，也能使各样的疾病和各样的症状痊愈。	Jesus called his twelve disciples to him and gave them authority to drive out impure spirits and to heal every disease and sickness.

收割时耕农最后的作业。无可否认，一路来的努力，不就是期待收割时的喜悦。丰收，即过好年；歉收，便挨肚子。

收割其实是紧要的，必须要快，不然谷子脱了、鸟儿啄了、秋雨淋了。因此收割之时，不但必须手脚快，还要手脚多！所以不难看到每逢收割季节，农民一家老少妇孺都下田帮忙，以免错过了天时之利。其迫切感不下于十万火急！

如此看，不难了解耶稣之心急。当耶稣看见许多人困苦流离，不但动了怜悯之心，还动了火燎之心急。

急一、耶稣时日无多，未听见天国福音的人更多。

急二、耶稣一人能力有限，未必能传天国福音到地极。

急三、天国近了。

急四、人人的寿命有限，不能担保人人长眠前能等到天国福音。

于是耶稣派了他的十二个门徒出去传讲天国的福音（马太10:1 ; 马可3:14 & 6:7 ; 路加9:1-2 ）。又派七十人去传讲神的国（路加10:1）。直到耶稣受死复活后还交待门徒们去使万民成为耶稣的门徒 （马太28:19-20 ; 马可16:15 ; 路加 24:46-47 ; 使徒1:8）。

Sin of Ignorance

  

世说

“不知者不罪”

出处 :

清·钱彩《说岳全传》第六十三回：“起凤道：‘牛兄何不早通姓名，使小弟多多得罪。勿怪，勿怪。’牛通道：‘不知者不罪。’”

释义 :

罪：责备，怪罪。因事先不知道而有所冒犯，就不加怪罪。

What the world says

“Ignorance is bliss”

Origin :

1. Thomas Gray’s poem, Ode on a Distant Prospect of Eton College (1742) : “Where ignorance is bliss, ‘this folly to be wise.”

Meaning :

1. Not knowing is better than knowing and worrying.

Christian’s Perspective

“Sin of Ignorance”

Origin :

1a. Leviticus 4:2 “If a soul shall sin through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which ought not to be done, and shall do against any of them” KJV

1b. Leviticus 4:13 “And if the whole congregation of Israel sin through ignorance, and the thing be hid from the eyes of the assembly, and they have done somewhat against any of the commandments of the Lord concerning things which should not be done, and are guilty” KJV

1c. Leviticus 4:22 “When a ruler hath sinned, and done somewhat through ignorance against any of the commandments of the Lord his God concerning things which should not be done, and is guilty” KJV

2. Ezekiel 45:20  “You are to do the same on the seventh day of the month for anyone who sins unintentionally or through ignorance; so you are to make atonement for the temple.”  NIV

3. Acts 17:30  “In the past God overlooked such ignorance, but now he commands all people everywhere to repent.”

4. Hebrew 9:7  “But only the high priest entered the inner room, and that only once a year, and never without blood, which he offered for himself and for the sins the people had committed in ignorance.” NIV

5. 1Peter 1:14  “As obedient children, do not conform to the evil desires you had when you lived in ignorance.” NIV

Judas Tree = Cercis siliquastrum

Judas tree, also known as redbud tree, is Cercis siliquastrum, a small deciduous tree in the subfamily Caesalpinioideae of the Fabaceae family, originated from Southern Europe and Western Asia, which is noted for its prolific deep pink flowers in spring.

Besides being planted as ornamental tree, the flowers are eaten in mixed salad or made into fritters.  The wood is used in veneers for its attractive grain.

Judas tree was first described by Linnaeus in 1753.   The Generic name derived from the Greek word kerkis, meaning a “weaver’s shuttle”, in allusion to its flat, woody seedpods.  The specific epithet derived from the Latin word siliqua, meaning “pod”.

There are several varieties and subspecies :

1. nothosubsp. yatikinii (Ponert) Govaerts

2. var. hebecarpa Bornm.

3. var. siliquastrum

4. var. alba Weston

There is a myth that Judas Iscariot hanged himself ^{( Matthew 27:1-10 )} from a tree of this species.  This belief is possible related to a corrupted derivation of the plant’s French common name, Arbre de Judée, meaning “tree of Judea”, referring to the hilly regions of the country where the tree were used to be common.  Another possible reason is the flowers and seedpods dangled from the trunk, in a way reminiscent of Judas’ suicide.

  

Matthew 27:1-10

¹ Early in the morning, all the chief priests and the elders of the people made their plans how to have Jesus executed. ² So they bound him, led him away and handed him over to Pilate the governor.

³ When Judas, who had betrayed him, saw that Jesus was condemned, he was seized with remorse and returned the thirty pieces of silver to the chief priests and the elders. ⁴ “I have sinned,” he said, “for I have betrayed innocent blood.”

“What is that to us?” they replied. “That’s your responsibility.”

⁵ So Judas threw the money into the temple and left. Then he went away and hanged himself.

⁶ The chief priests picked up the coins and said, “It is against the law to put this into the treasury, since it is blood money.” ⁷ So they decided to use the money to buy the potter’s field as a burial place for foreigners. ⁸ That is why it has been called the Field of Blood to this day. ⁹ Then what was spoken by Jeremiah the prophet was fulfilled: “They took the thirty pieces of silver, the price set on him by the people of Israel, ¹⁰ and they used them to buy the potter’s field, as the Lord commanded me.”

We reap what we sow

Anne Graham Loitz, Billy Graham's daughter, was interviewed on CBS's “The Early Show” on the Thursday morning after the September 11, 2002 terrorist attacks. She was asked: “How could God let something like this happen?” Here is her answer:

I believe that God is deeply saddened by this, just as we are, but for years we've been telling God to get out of our schools, to get out of our government, and to get out of our lives. And being the gentleman that He is, I believe that He has calmly backed out. How can we expect God to give us His blessing and His protection if we demand that He leave us alone?

Let's see, I think it started when Madeline Murray O'Hare (she was murdered, her body was found recently) complained she didn't want any prayer in our schools, and we said, OK.

Then, someone said you better not read the Bible in school... the Bible that says thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not steal, and love your neighbor as yourself. And we said, OK.

Then, Dr. Benjamin Spock said we shouldn't spank our children when they misbehave because their little personalities would be warped and we might damage their self-esteem. (Dr. Spock's son committed suicide.) And we said, an expert should know what he's talking about, so we said OK.

Then, someone said teachers and principals better not discipline our children when they misbehave. And the school administrators said no faculty member in this school better touch a student when they misbehave because we don't want any bad publicity, and we surely don't want to be sued (There's a big difference between disciplining and touching, beating, smacking, humiliating, kicking, etc.) And we said, OK.

Then someone said, let's let our daughters have abortions if they want, and they won't even have to tell their parents. And we said, OK.

Then some wise school-board member said, since boys will be boys and they're going to do it anyway, let's give our sons all the condoms they want, so they can have all the fun they desire, and we won't have to tell their parents they got them at school. And we said, OK.

Then some of our top elected officials said it doesn't matter what we do in private as long as we do our jobs.  And agreeing with them, we said it doesn't matter to me what anyone, including the President, does in private as long as I have a job and the economy is good.

And then the entertainment industry said, let's make TV shows and movies that promote profanity, violence, and illicit sex.  And let's record music that encourages rape, drugs, murder, suicide, and satanic themes. And we said it's just entertainment, it has no adverse effect, and nobody takes it seriously anyway, so go right ahead.

Now we're asking ourselves why our children have no conscience, why they don't know right from wrong, and why it doesn't bother them to kill strangers, their classmates, and themselves. Probably, if we think about it long and hard enough, we can figure it out. I think it has a great deal to do with “WE REAP WHAT WE SOW.”

Anne Graham Loitz

This article was  published in the Oct.-Nov.-December, 2002 issue of “Michael”.

“Michael” is ‘A journal of Catholic patriots, for the social credit monetary reform. through the education of the population and not through political parties’, founded in 1939 by Louis Evan and Gilberte Côté.

Serenity Prayer

God grant me the serenity

to accept the things I cannot change;

courage to change the things I can;

and wisdom to know the difference.   

Living one day at a time,

enjoying one moment at a time;

accepting hardships as the pathway to peace;

taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,

not as I would have it;

trusting that He will make all things right

if I surrender to His Will;

that I may be reasonably happy in this life

and supremely happy with Him forever in the next. 

Amen

Reinhold Nieburhr